Love Boat
by Wynja
Summary: The title should be a clue. Batman needs some help. Caribbean cruise meets lethal nerve poison. Also Slade in leisure wear. Slash? Yes, duh! Slade/Robin of course.
1. Chapter 1: Exciting and New

I've had my thyroid out and has a few weeks of sick leave, so I thought I'd start posting this story, though it's not quite finished yet…

Hope you enjoy this little adventure…

 **Love Boat**

 **Chapter 1: Exciting and New**

"Of course I will, Batman!" Robin beamed. The man on the screen had just asked him to assist with a case and the young man was eager to prove himself. He had been leading the Teen Titans for a few years and didn't feel he had gotten quite enough kudos from his mentor. Although the fact that Batman hadn't shut them down and stayed out of their business was probably all the proof he needed of the man's trust in him. Still, a pat on the shoulder now and then is always nice.

"Maybe wait until I've introduced the case until you agree." There was a tiny smile on the man's lips like he knew why the teen was this eager. "It is not uncomplicated and you might prefer not to do it."

They were speaking via a private link and Robin was by his computer in his room, wondering whether or not to call in the Titans, but Bruce had asked for him, not his team, so he decided against it for now.

"Sure, go on then," he snorted, feeling a bit silly.

"I've been tracking a very dangerous duo, two men with strong Russian links, leaving behind a path of bodies, all belonging to current or former Russian citizens or associates to the same. They are using Novitjok, I assume you are familiar with the substance?"

"Of course. Russian. It's actually a group of substances, nerve poisons, developed in the seventies and eighties. Even a few milligrams can kill. Lately used in the UK on former Russian military intelligence officer and double agent Sergej Skripal and his daughter… but I'm assuming your cases has been kept out of the media?"

"Yes, with some difficulty. My people might not be connected to the Skripal case, but there is a possibility. Either way they need to be stopped and the source of their orders has to be exposed… and it might be a very high-up source indeed."

"Alright. What do you want me to do?" Robin asked.

"They managed to slip through my fingers. I had ears to the ground but a tip arrived just a moment too late. I haven't even been able to get a clear description of them and they seem to constantly change their appearance."

"So you don't know what they look like and you don't know where they are?" Robin clarified. There was a small, very small, part of him who enjoyed that. Very small. Barely there.

"Correct, unfortunately, but I do know where they _will_ be. They have a very specific M.O; they hide among tourists, and I managed to piece together enough information from papers they had tried to burn when they fled Gotham, to know that their next target is on, or connected to, a cruise."

"… Okay…?" Robin wasn't sure what the man wanted him to do about that.

"It's a seven day Caribbean cruise and I can't leave Gotham to go undercover. That's where you come in."

"You want me to go on a cruise?"

"Yes."

"To find two people with no descriptions, who are carrying around insanely dangerous nerve poison?"

"Yes."

"No problem."

"Well, there's one more thing." The man seemed to hesitate, and that could mean trouble the teen knew. "It's a romantic cruise for couples."

"Oh." Robin thought about his options as his heart sank. "I guess I could take Raven or Starfire but neither of them does the whole 'under cover' thing well…"

"You couldn't anyway… it's a gay cruise."

Robin felt his jaw drop before he could form any vocal reply. "What?!" he ended up with.

"As I understand it that won't be a problem?"

"I… I… I… who…?" Robin stuttered.

"A colleague of mine saw you on a… date… a year or so ago. Honestly Robin, I'm a bit hurt you haven't told me. I have no problems with you being gay."

"Bi!"

"Or bi," Bruce amended smoothly.

"And it was just a couple of dates. Leading nowhere!"

"My condolences?" Batman offered. "There's really no need to be defensive, if you don't feel comfortable in the role then I'll find someone else, I just prefer to have someone with your skill who doesn't have to act… at least not pretend to have another sexuality."

"No, I'll do it!" Robin hastily offered. He didn't want to lose the chance to prove himself after all. "But there's still the problem with my… umm… 'partner'. BB and Cy are all for the girls and they _really_ don't blend in well."

"I was thinking that Speedy-"

"No."

"Why? He was the one you were on a date with, after all?"

"Exactly why. I don't want-"

Suddenly the screen flickered and the image on it split in two. One still showed Batman, scowling, and the other-

"Slade?" Robin exclaimed.

"Deathstroke?" Batman said at the same time.

"Wait, who? Deathstroke?" Robin asked before the man in the two-toned mask had the opportunity to speak.

"You can compare notes later," the mercenary drawled. "I couldn't help but overhear-" the man started.

"You have hacked our line and you "couldn't help" it?" Robin snorted.

"Purely accidental, I assure you," the villain deadpanned. "Anyway, I offer my services."

"Oh, really now?" the teen laughed, deciding that the man must be mental.

"Explain," Batman added, much too acceptingly, Robin thought.

"I happen to have a job involving those men, and it, if it all goes smoothly, won't affect your case. I am also a better body guard for Robin than the archer is and I am capable of both surviving an attack with the poison as well as having the knowledge to treat Robin, giving him at least a slim chance to survive if our cover is blown."

"What is your mission? Who are you working for?" Batman asked.

"Classified," the other man answered in an almost bored tone.

Batman didn't look like he had expected an answer either, he mainly looked thoughtful.

"You can't even be _considering_ this, can you?" Robin asked his mentor, gaping.

"Deathstroke, that is Slade, and I have a history," the man explained. "He can be trusted. Mostly."

"Oh, really? I haven't noticed that!" Robin drawled.

"Don't be a sore loser, boy. I've kept my part of every bargain we've struck."

Robin thought back and had to agree with the man. They had had a few 'deals' of sort after taking down Trigon together, mainly consisting of short truces when circumstances made those necessary, and he hated to admit it but most of those circumstances had been a favor to his team.

"Fine, sure," Robin ground out like it pained him, which is physically did. "But no way."

"Do you have any other candidates?" Bruce wanted to know.

"How about Superman?" Robin asked hopefully.

"Not gay," Batman pointed out.

"Neither is Slade!" Robin countered.

"I've been known to dabble," the man shrugged, causing Robin's jaw to drop yet again. Any more of this and he would have to have surgery.

"Wait… what? You're… gay?"

"Would the label 'mostly, but not completely, straight' be enough?"

"We still wouldn't make a believable couple!" the teen objected, feeling like he was losing ground, which was, of course, ridiculous. He would not go on a cruise with the villain and that was final. It was up to him, after all.

"Our cover could be that of a successful businessman on a cruise with his secret new boy toy," the villain stated. Slade had a mask on, so Robin couldn't see his expression, but the young man was sure it was a smirk.

"No," Bruce finally said, and Robin felt himself relax. The dark knight would put a stop to this insanity. "You're newlyweds. I've booked you into one of the wedding suites. If Robin should be recognized and the media come snooping around with questions there can always be information 'leaked' about a divorce in a few months."

"You're worried about his reputation?" Slade chuckled.

"This is my ward, my son. He's nobody's 'boy toy' least of all yours," Bruce retorted. Robin could _hear_ that the man wasn't fond of the mercenary, so why did he seem to agree to this madness?

The teen heard himself asking exactly that question.

"Slade is a good option for the job, especially with his healing powers and experience," Bruce explained. "If I had thought about it, I might have hired him for this mission."

"Are you under the impression I will do this for free?" Slade asked smoothly.

"You're already on a job, you're getting paid," Bruce objected.

"Not enough not to just take someone else along," Slade let them know.

As they stared at each other Robin's hope rose that the deal would fall apart, but no such luck.

"Your usual fee for surveillance, bodyguard, no kill?" Bruce sighed.

"I'll even give you a discount. Tell Will you're on my nice-list," the man said.

"Who's Will?" Robin piped up, but the older men both ignored him.

"I will personally skin you if you fail in protecting Robin," Bruce let the villain know. "I'll do it slowly so you heal before bleeding to death. That way I can keep going forever. Might even build a machine. Some sort of scaled up apple peeler."

"Understood," the mercenary nodded.

"You both need to be ready to leave from Fort Lauderdale in three days"

"Doable." The mercenary confirmed.

"Three days? How were you able to book us on a ship leaving that soon?" Robin asked.

"There is always a way," Batman said vaguely.

Slade snorted. "Contact me with further details tomorrow."

Then, suddenly, the screen only contained Bruce again.

"What the actual f-"

"Robin!"

"-uck!" Robin, who thought a good, decent swearword was in order here, continued. "How could you just-?!"

"I know you don't personally like him, but do you dislike him enough to want to abandon the mission?"

"I just don't understand why?" Robin groaned. He did want this mission, he did want to do this favor for the man, but his current 'partner' didn't exactly sweeten the deal.

"He can get sprayed in the face with Novitjok and actually keep fighting, at least in theory," Bruce said. "Only a handful people on this planet could do that. But he lacks in the socializing department, he won't be able to interact with the other passengers in a fruitful enough way, looking for clues, fishing for information. His normal approach is much more brutal. Which is why I need you there, and that's why _he_ needs you there."

"Oh." It hadn't occurred to Robin that the villain might actually be dependent on him. "So… I'm doing him a favor too?"

"Undoubtably."

"I'm going to have to remind him of that. Repeatedly."

"I'm sure you will," Batman smirked. "So, you're taking the mission?"

"I've just realized that I have to act lovey-dovey with Slade in public for a week," Robin groaned.

"Yes, but see it like this; he has to act lovey-dovey with _you_ as well. Imagine what you will be able to get him to do."

"…. Like… shuffle board? Pose for silly pictures?"

"The possibilities are endless."

"I might end up enjoying myself after all," Robin grinned.

"As long as you get the job done," Bruce reminded him.

"Of course. Work comes first," the teen confirmed.

* * *

His team didn't like the idea any more than Robin did, and the teen had to deal with both their worries, his own, planning the trip and planning his own absence in the next few days. He had several planning sessions with Bruce and for a few Slade joined in. It hadn't occurred to Robin, at first, that the man of course would be unmasked for the mission, and therefore his poor jaw got another trip downwards when the mercenary appeared on the screen in civilian clothes.

"Close your mouth, boy, or you're going to make me blush," the man drawled.

The teen almost bit his own tongue as his teeth clicked shut. The villain had a very strong face, wide, angled, with a short, well-kept, white beard and hair that was just a smidge too long to pass a military inspection. His hair was mostly swept back, but with no products, which let strands of it slightly curl around his temples and over his forehead. He was handsome, very handsome, Robin reluctantly admitted, but he immediately saw a problem.

"No offence, but that eyepatch isn't exactly low key," he pointed out.

"I'll be wearing a prosthetic eye and sun glasses during the trip," the man informed him dryly and Robin furtively scratched down 'sunglasses' on the list next to his keyboard of things to pack.

"Let's continue with the plans," Bruce interrupted. "The trip offers three opportunities to leave the ship. The Princess Cays on day one, St. Thomas on day three and Philipsburg on day four. It is possible this trip is just a holiday for the suspects but I very much doubt it. Their next victim is either on the ship or in one of those ports."

"We can't be expected to protect everyone from people we can't even identify," Slade objected.

"No. But you can try. If a death should occur your main focus is still to identify and apprehend the suspects, however."

"Any means available?" the villain asked.

The Dark Knight hesitated. "Yes."

"Batman!" Robin exclaimed. "You can't mean-?"

"They are extremely dangerous. If they feel threatened, don't let them get close," Bruce interrupted. "They won't be carrying the poison around, of course, it's far too dangerous. They will have it when they intend to use it, but that can be at any time. They don't need to be close to their victim, just leave a miniscule amount where they are prone to stumble upon it."

"They might be too careful for that," Slade said, shaking his head. "I've read the reports you've sent me. They don't want to leave an unnecessarily large trail of dead bodies around, they will make as sure as they can that no one but the target is killed, and the poison itself is the message. If they put something in the shampoo, they might kill some of the staff as well."

"You're not wrong." Batman didn't look happy to admit this, but he did anyway. "The ship is a more enclosed space, they would have to be careful."

"I'm not sure whether that will make things easier or more difficult for us, but it's good to realize," Robin nodded. "One thing, though, Slade. Your job… you don't have anymore information from your own employer? Nothing that can help us identify them?"

"No, unfortunately not. The identities are part of the mission."

"And you still won't tell us the rest?" the teen prompted.

"No."

"I don't like it," the young hero said, addressing Batman this time. "If not all the cards are on the table…"

"You'll get the results you want either way," Slade snorted. "Let's discuss our aliases, what did you have in mind, Bruce?"

It was surreal to hear the man he had considered his personal nemesis address his mentor in such a casual, familiar way, Robin thought. It was even more so to hear Bruce reply correspondingly.

"I've booked you under the names Slade and Robin Wilson. I don't think it's likely that anyone would recognize Robin as Richard, and if they do it's not unusual to use fake names for people who want to be incognito. Your name is uncommon, but I was hoping Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts might deter anyone from connecting a two-eyed gay man to a lethal mercenary."

"You flatter me," Slade snorted. "I like it," he then added with a grin. "The amount of people even knowing of Deathstroke, much less Slade Wilson-"

"Wait, you gave us his last name?" Robin asked his mentor. "You couldn't just have made one up?"

"It's a common name, and as I think Slade was about to say, anyone recognizing it would have to have to be very shady indeed. I've of course obtained the passenger lists for the trip and, among the people I've been able to identify, there are no obvious such threats."

"Fashion designers and interior decorators don't need assassins very often," Slade agreed. "Well," he added, "not enough to actually hire one."

"Prejudice much?" Robin muttered. "Just because it's a gay cruise-"

"I've studied the passenger list as well," Slade interrupted him. "Blame it, not me. And do your homework."

"I'm very busy making sure Jump won't fall apart or run out of pizza!" Robin objected. "I still have time!"

"You do," Bruce confirmed. "But about your cover, you need to be careful. Stay in character unless you are completely alone. Even be careful with what you say and do when the balcony door is open."

"Our suite has a balcony?" Robin asked.

"Yes. Not the point."

"Sure, sorry. Yes, we'll stay in character. We don't have to fly there together, though, right?"

"No, as per Slade's request you're meeting at the airport, but as soon as you leave the car at the port…"

"Yes, sir," Robin nodded. "We'll be careful."

* * *

When he landed in Miami a couple of days later, he was nervous. Very nervous. He was dressed in upscale leisurewear consisting of a pair of very nicely fitted jeans and slim fit t-shirt, both expensive but understated labels, looking his part of a rich young man on vacation. It was just after noon and Robin's stomach grumbled with more than butterflies. He wanted to look around for something to eat but Slade was supposed to meet him here so he didn't have time. The ship was due to leave at four in the afternoon, but Robin figured that there still would be time for a quick lunch and hoped the mercenary would agree.

At that moment he spotted the man, wearing a pale yellow polo shirt and light grey slacks, looking completely relaxed and ready for vacation.

"Hi," Robin greeted him, and was very annoyed that most of his conscious mind was busy wondering if he still looked presentable after the flight and dragging his substantial luggage from the pick-up point.

"Hello," Slade said and then simply took over Robin's luggage. "The car is waiting. I was thinking we should have lunch in Fort Lauderdale, and then we should still have plenty of time to board."

"I- yes," Robin agreed, a bit stunned.

When they reached the car it had a chauffeur, a grey-haired man with a moustache, who helped Robin load his bags into the trunk which Slade held the back door open for the young hero. It was a bit dizzying in the twilight zone, but Robin tried to play along, knowing it would only get 'worse', so to speak.

They had only been driving for a little while and Robin was busy looking through his bag making sure everything was there, when Slade turned to him, holding something up.

"Give me your hand," he said, as he actually reached out for it.

"Huh?" was all the hero could say as he just watched as the man put a wide gold ring on his finger. "What?" he added, blinking up at him.

"Your wedding ring," the man clarified, his tone hinting that he thought he was talking to an idiot, "Bruce sent them as part of our alibi." The man held up his own hand where a similar ring gleamed.

"He knew my ring size?" Robin mumbled, fiddling with his own ring which fitted perfectly.

"I'm more worried that he knew mine," Slade snorted, and they shared a little bit of a grin. After that the teed felt the tension between them diminish and he could finally relax a little.

"Will, how does the traffic look?" Slade asked the chauffeur, making Robin's ears perk.

"No worse than expected," the man up front answered calmly.

"So you're Will?" Robin asked.

"William Wintergreen at your service, young Mr. Wilson," the man said, grinning at him in the rear-view mirror.

"How do you know Slade?"

"We go way back."

"Any embarrassing stories?"

"Plenty."

"Will," Slade said warningly.

"Available at a cost," William grinned at Robin.

The teen grinned back. "I'll save up my allowance," he promised.

"I think I've made a mistake," the mercenary growled.

"Oh, you've made many, many mistakes," his friend let him know airily. "I don't think a marriage, although faked, to this young man is one of them, though. Have fun."

Slade merely snorted and Robin laughed, his cheeks coloring a little. He liked this man, but he could see a hint of steel under the jovial exterior. If he had been an actual threat to Slade Robin didn't doubt which side the man would be on.

Wintergreen joined them for lunch and to Slade's obvious dismay kept dropping hints about situations where the mercenary might not have ended up smelling like roses. Robin enjoyed that immensely and was in a very good mood when they finally headed to the harbor. When they arrived, Wintergreen were again in the role of manservant and made sure their luggage was taken care of. Slade, on the other hand, slipped comfortably into the role of besotted new husband. Robin was held close at all times and, in the very line waiting to board, Slade kissed him until the people behind them started mumbling and coughing as they were holding things up.

Robin pulled away and smiled apologetically at the other passengers.

"Sorry," he said, his face beet red but it fitted the situation, he assumed.

He got a few chuckles as reply, no one looked irritated. Robin grabbed his 'husband's' arm and dragged him forward to catch up with the line. Slade responded by letting his hand rest on the teen's ass until they were checked in. Robin hoped the mercenary would get backpain as he actually had to lean sideways a bit to reach.

While acting like newlyweds of the worst kind they were also working. Robin knew Slade's main focus was on the other passengers, and so was his. It was a very colorful mix. The cruise was aimed at the LGBT-community in general, so there weren't just gay men in line; there were all kinds of couples, but all of them seemed excited and slightly impatient to get onboard. Robin groaned as he realized that just because they were looking for two men didn't mean the two women in front of them couldn't be their targets, or what seemed to be a heterosexual couple a bit behind them. The targets could be really _bad_ at dressing up and _still_ fit in here perfectly. Somewhere, among all these people, two murderers were hiding… They had their work cut out for them.

To be Continued...

A/N: Please review! First impressions? Expectations? I intend to update each Saturday. I'm currently on chapter seven. I might update quicker if I manage to finish the story, but I need some energy to do so... comments always helps!


	2. Chapter 2: Come Aboard

**A/N:** aw, thank you for the reviews! It's great to know that there are still people out there interested in reading Sladin… I mean, I write for my own sake (I wanna find out how it goes!) but it IS more fun and inspiring when people are reading it too… 😉

In this chapter there is a scene I've tried to delete a few times, but Slade wouldn't let me. He claims it's necessary. Robin claims it's not. It's a bit… weird, but it IS one way to make a point, so… bear with it… 😉

 **Chapter 2: Come Aboard**

"Wow, this isn't bad!" Robin looked around their suite as the staff carried in their luggage. The whole suite was made up of warm woods, crème walls and a blue carpet with a pattern of golden yellow and light blue. An open archway from the sitting room led into a bedroom with perfectly white sheets on the bed and big, fluffy pillows. Opposite the bedroom was a seating area with a two-seat sofa. They had a balcony with lounge chairs and a spacious bathroom with both a bath and a shower to boot. There was a big flower arrangement on a table and the closet held bathrobes and slippers. These rooms could have been situated in any finer hotel, and it didn't look like a ship's cabin at all, one of the few things that gave it away was the life jackets on the top shelf of the closet.

"Only the best for my love," Slade purred behind him and kissed his neck, making the teen shiver in a strange delight. A moment later they were alone and the teen took two big steps away from the mercenary, trying to look professional.

"Let's unpack and talk strategy," he said, and Slade seemed to agree as he began opening his bags. The man had brought several suits and a lot of clothes, just like Robin. They were expected to dress for dinner, and to be seen in the same suit two nights in a row? Unthinkable! They also had a lot of sporting and bathing clothes, of course, as it was supposed to be a vacation. They unpacked in silence for a while. Slade, however, had packed things in what appeared to be a hidden compartment, which wasn't on the list of recommended items to bring.

"That's… a lot of weapons," Robin muttered.

"I'd like to have a range to choose from," the man shrugged and put them away as well. "You were very professional out there. Good work. I thought you'd be more… reluctant."

"I knew what would be expected, and it needed to look natural," Robin shrugged, a little pleased and a little embarrassed at the same time. "If that kiss had looked like our first, well… it would attract attention."

"It would."

"You didn't exactly ease me into it, though," the teen scolded the man. "There was no real reason to be that intimate that early, maybe not at all!"

"No one would believe that we were married if my hands weren't all over you," Slade snorted. "You're a rather irresistible piece of ass."

"Funny, you're just an ass," Robin grinned sweetly.

Slade snorted. "We should probably finish up and go up on deck for the departure? I assume that's expected by tourists?"

"Yes, there were welcome drinks to be had too, I think… damn, where did I put the program?" Robin rummaged through his things until he found it. "Yup. Drinks in half an hour Deck 16, the Sun deck, for us."

"Good. I wonder if 'our' guys will be social or keep to themselves…" Slade pondered aloud.

"We'll have to try to figure out both who's there and who's _not_ there," Robin sighed.

"They wouldn't draw suspicion either way. Spending a lot of time in their cabin as a couple would be seen as natural."

"Pity we can't," Robin joked.

"Indeed?" Slade smirked at him. "Well, you'll have to limp in the mornings. Wouldn't want anyone to think I wasn't doing my job."

Robin laughed coldly. " _You_ do the limping, Slade. Now go pretty yourself up, we have to leave soon." The teen then did something very foolish; he turned his back on the man.

He had no warning whatsoever, but suddenly he was on the bed, on his stomach, his neck and hip in a painful iron grip and his jeans were down by his knees, together with his underwear. Robin tried to kick out, but Slade had him under complete control. The man's groin, still covered by his pants, were pressed into the teen's behind.

"Now, Robin… so there's no misunderstanding… I'm the top. Exclusive. We never discussed those details with Bruce, but in a crowd like this it might come up in some raunchy banter. We need to keep our stories straight. Agreed?"

"Fuck you!" Robin growled, trying even harder to fight back.

"I see I have to take further measures," the man said and the hand on the teen's hip disappeared for a moment. Robin froze when he heard the zipper.

"Slade! No! Stop! You can't!"

"You agree, then?"

"Yes! Yes! Agreed!"

"And what was the agreement?"

"You're the top! Okay? Let me go!"

"In a moment. I want you to remember something here Robin," the man told him in a low growl. "I'm not a nice man. And you're on a ship. You have nowhere to run and I can do what I please with you, because you're too damn heroic and proud to go cry to Batman or abandon the mission. That does not mean I will, but don't push me, understood?"

"Fine!" Robin reluctantly grunted.

He was finally released and hurriedly pulled his jeans up as he scrambled off the bed, nearly falling flat on his face. Once he was decent, he whipped around to face an indifferent looking Slade.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the teen exclaimed.

"Making a point through abusive, excessive violence." The man smirked slightly, like he thought the whole thing had been a good joke.

"Why?!"

"Because you wouldn't listen otherwise."

The teen gaped. "You… you _could_ have tried using your words," he then growled.

"This way was quicker. Besides, there was something else I wanted to illustrate. Continue like this and you might get yourself killed."

"You're… you're gonna-?"

"No. No, Robin, we're partners. But you were just threatened with rape and you're _still_ keeping your voice down because of the mission… I needed to know how fucked up you are."

"Excuse me?!" the teen's voice rose a bit.

"If or when we face these people there will be no time for heroics. Hesitation or trying to think of a humane way to take them down will get you killed. I like my skin where it is, so I'd like to avoid that, but in that case, I need you to put yourself first, your primal self, not some heroic delusion."

"I am aware of the dangers."

"Three weeks ago, you tried to reason with a madman with a gun and almost got yourself killed."

"How did you-? That worked out fine!"

"Because your metal friend had a bit more sense and blasted the man."

"Well, I understand this is different, ok? Many people might get hurt if that poison somehow spreads, after all."

Robin saw the man roll his eye and it looked like the mercenary was very close to facepalm as well. Suddenly the man was grabbing his shoulders, almost shaking him.

"This. Is. Not. About. Other. People! Put yourself first!"

"Fine! Fine!" Robin snapped.

"If you can't, at least run and let me deal with it," Slade muttered and let him go. "You're mainly here for your brains after all, I'm the brawns."

"So you're saying I'm smarter?" the teen smirked.

"Do you _want_ to be back on the bed?"

"No."

"Then learn."

"We need to get ready," Robin huffed and walked by Slade into the bathroom. "Do we need to change?"

"You're the one with that type of knowledge," the man replied.

"Then we should. And Slade?"

"Yes?"

"I got the point you were trying to make, but if you ever threaten me for just making fun of you again, I'll make sure Bruce starts with peeling the skin off your balls."

There was a moment's silence and the teen honestly thought he would be flying again at any moment, but then there was a short, gruff laugh. "Understood."

Robin quickly washed himself off in the bathroom and brushed his hair into place once more. When he came out Slade was in his underwear, picking out an outfit.

"Nice," Robin said, letting his eyes roam over the man's body. "Exactly how gay were you again?"

"I should have known violent sexual acts would turn you on," the man smirked at him.

"The white pants and white shirt," was all Robin replied.

"That won't make me look like a sailor?"

"That's kinda the point," the teen said and pulled his own top over his head, "I'll wear white shorts and the blue polo, and we can be seamen together," he added with a naughty smirk and pulled down his pants, sans underwear this time.

"Nice," Slade leered, copying Robin.

"You've already seen more than I wanted you to," the teen snorted. "You really crossed a line there, Slade."

"Maybe I did. I have a problem with lines," the man shrugged and disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up as well.

"You fucking well have," Robin muttered.

"I can still hear you!" Slade's reply came through the door.

The teen replied with a hand gesture this time.

Soon they were standing with tall glasses of good champagne in their hands, smiling happily at everything and nothing around them while looking out over Fort Lauderdale harbor.

"This will be fantastic, honey!" Robin, in his role of insanely-in-love-new-husband squealed and almost jumped up and down on his toes which hugging Slade's arm with his free one. As Slade wasn't very good at socializing without punching people in the face, Robin had taken it upon himself to play the over-socializing type and he had already introduced himself to three couples, dragging the mercenary along for the ride.

They listened to a short speech by the captain, joined in on a cheer for the trip and then watched with the others as the ship started gliding away from the port and slowly maneuver out into open water. There were a few people down there, waving goodbye to relatives who happily waved back. Robin took note of them and mentally put them on the list of lesser suspects. 'Their' guys most likely didn't have people seeing them off. He locked eyes with Slade and nodded a little in their direction. He got a nod back and, probably because they were staring at each other and Slade thought it might look odd, it was followed up by a long, slow kiss. Around them several couples were doing the same thing, all kinds of affection were displaced from making out to just standing close to each other. Robin took note of this too, once the kiss was over and he could think properly again. Slade was a very good kisser, it was too easy to get lost in it all, and he needed to stay sharp. He emptied the champagne and almost instantly had a staff member with a tray offering to take it away.

"I need a picture of you!" Robin then stated and brought out his phone. He snapped a few shots of Slade, furtively focusing on the people around the man instead. "The light's not good, please come over here instead?" he then said. He also shot video of the crowd. Moving the phone as slowly as he could. All of it was immediately and automatically sent to the Batcave for processing. Slade took photos of him too, and then, leering, insisted on a selfie with them kissing.

"Bruce will start building that machine," Robin whispered to him afterwards. He then 'accidentally' bumped in to a male couple and apologized, introducing himself and Slade in the process. So the afternoon went until they returned to their rooms to shower and change for dinner. Robin was looking down at their passenger list and sighed.

"3,560 guests in 1,780 cabins and just seven days to go through them? Lovely."

"Well, we know there's two of them, we know they are biologically male-"

"We _think_ we do, anyway. Who says they haven't spread out with a companion each?"

"Let's assume they haven't." Slade decided. "Let's also assume they are on board at all… leads can be wrong. But we know they have been on cruises before, we've been able to connect some deaths to these kinds of travels. One or both of them could be disguised as a woman, but as far as our information goes they haven't done that before. Either they are not comfortable with it, or, and this is important, they might not have a body type that really matches."

"Like how?"

"Imagine me in a skirt."

"Point taken."

"Bruce has also been busy using his computer skills to scratch off as many as possible from the suspect list. He placed us on this deck for a reason; it's here that most uncertainties are. Untraceable, suspiciously fake names, for example. All the research takes time… we have to give him as many names and visual data as possible."

"Yeah, we can't possibly get to know all these people and have deep conversations with them where we just suddenly start talking about Mother Russia…" Robin sighed.

"If that's your plan I might want to change partners," Slade chuckled. "And now either you hit the shower or we're sharing. I'm starving."

"It's the sea air," Robin chuckled and hurried along.

"Oh, and don't forget we have to at least try to identify possible targets on the ship and we have no idea about those. They might also be among the one thousand three hundred plus crew members," Slade reminded him through the door.

"God dammit," the teen groaned.

The ship offered traditional dining which meant dinner at specific times every day where you were seated with the same group of people, as well as any time dining where the restaurant was open for dinner from five thirty until ten. There was also a pizzeria, a barbecue-place and several other places to eat like cafés, onboard. Robin and Slade couldn't possibly tie themselves down to the same crowd every night, but had to explore it all, of course, so tonight they had the early seating in the traditional dining hall. Slade looked damn good in his dark grey suit and Robin could just hope he looked half as good in his light grey.

Even though he was essentially working, Robin found that he was having a good time. As they were taking an after-dinner stroll on the deck, he said as much to Slade.

"I haven't been on a vacation for years," he admitted. "How about we forget about work and just enjoy ourselves?"

"You know when I was talking about you needing to put yourself first?" Slade asked.

"Yes?"

"You took it too far."

"Really, now?" Robin grinned and arched an eyebrow. "So Slade is all work, no play?"

"Work comes first," the man shrugged and then kissed his hair as another couple passed by.

"You're sending me mixed signals," Robin giggled.

"I think you should stay away from the wine from now on," the man snorted, with laughter in his voice.

"I'm not drunk!" Robin objected. "Maybe just a bit tipsy," he added, thoughtfully. "Which I didn't mean to become. Simple miscl… miscalklu… miscalculation."

"I see. Well, how about heading back to the cabin, we have some work to do tonight."

"Yeah. Don't worry, strong cup of coffee and I'm on top of it," Robin promised.

He was asleep within five minutes of coming back.

"Wake up."

"Um… huh?" the teen answered, feeling foggy.

"I'm about to leave to break into the security room to tap the video feeds," Slade told him. "Did that last glass of wine wear off?"

"I… yeah… yeah, sorry," Robin mumbled.

"Good, then I need you to contact Bruce to see how the updating of our suspects lists is doing. We will need to target specific couples tomorrow."

"Alright, good luck. Be careful."

"Aren't you sweet?"

"Fuck off."

"And there it went. If I'm not back in thirty minutes, send help."

"Really?"

"No, but come find me and bring a mop and some bleach."

"I hope that was a joke," Robin sighed.

Slade smirked. "Me too."

Batman answered the call almost immediately.

"I've been able to narrow the main suspect list down to about one hundred couples," was the first thing he said.

"Oh, yay," Robin drawled. "Did you get a positive ID on the ones waving goodbye?"

"Yes, and good call, they are all off the list," the man replied.

"Good. I'm sending you notes on the people we dined with tonight, mostly older couples and I don't think any of them are our guys, I made sure to study their hands as well… easy to forget to age those."

"Often missed, yes," the Dark Knight nodded. "I'm running the list against the passenger list now, and- ah, most of them weren't on the target list but one couple was. You're sure about Captain Williams and his husband?"

"Uploading photos now, and yes. I suspect early onset of Alzheimer's. Could be faked, of course, but their builds…?"

"I see what you are saying, we're taking them off the list as well. Good. Is Slade hacking the system according to the plan?"

"Yes, he's on it."

"Good. Anything else suspicious to report?"

"Not really. We'll see if we can track down any of the couples on the list tonight, at least make sure we know where they live… Not sure there's much more we can do tonight without drawing attention to ourselves."

"We're not going to talk about that selfie?"

"No."

"Just asking. So… things are… under control? You don't feel… uncomfortable?"

"Well, he _is_ pretty hung…"

"…"

"Just kidding!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack," Batman muttered. "But if things get to be too much, just pretend you're having a fight and split up. You will cover more ground like that after all."

"Yes, but four- that is _three_ , eyes see more than two. Slade is good at reading body language… although earlier today the guy he was watching just turned out to have the runs."

Batman chuckled. "Well, that _will_ make a person look very uncomfortable. Alfred or I will make sure to always be available, so just call, and everything you send goes directly into the analyzing program in the computer which will send us both reports. Just give it as much information as you can."

"Yeah, I'm going to leave my phone on recording and place it in my front shirt pocket whenever we are among people," Robin said. "that should give us lots of footage without looking suspicious."

"Sounds good. Ah, Slade just patched through the security, I'll be running that too."

"That was quick."

"Well, the ship only goes through its camera feed after something has happened, so that makes things easier," the man said.

"I guess," Robin shrugged. "I'm getting changed for a romantic evening stroll on deck, then."

"You sound very enthusiastic."

"We could switch places you know? I could handle Gotham for a few days," Robin warned him.

"I appreciate what you are doing immensely," Batman hurriedly assured him, and the teen grinned.

"Sure you do. Gotta go. Say hello to Al."

Ten minutes later Slade was back, no worse for wear, and confirmed his mission had been a success.

"The security on this ship is lax at best," he let the teen know. Robin had changed into leisure wear again and soon they were up on deck, noting that the wind was actually slightly chilly, slowly mingling with other couples. The deck quickly emptied, though, perhaps due to the wind, but Robin had seen many yawns and suspected most would have an early night.

"I think we should turn in," he suggested, and once they were back in their cabin he told the man what he had thought about on the way. "The ship will reach the Princess Cays at nine tomorrow morning. If we get up early, we should be able to track down at least some of the suspects while they are having breakfast."

"Sounds like a plan," Slade said and removed his shirt. "I could do with some sleep."

"You don't normally sleep?" Robin asked, as it had sounded by the man's tone like it was a rare occurrence.

"Of course I do, but I can stay up for as long as I have to," the man said and let his trousers fall to the floor next. "So don't try to compete with me there. Sleep when needed. You have to stay sharp, after all."

"Yes, yes," Robin yawned and started undressing himself. He disappeared into the bathroom to change into his pajama pants and brush his teeth and then went to bed. Slade used the bathroom as well and then the bed dipped rather violently as the man sat down on it.

"The hell?" Robin yelped as he almost rolled onto the man's side of the bed.

"Interesting mattress," Slade commented, sounding amused. "At least I assume you didn't want to cuddle?"

"Not really, no," the teen drawled and rolled back.

After that the mattress behaved better and they settled in. Robin, however, couldn't sleep. His mind was full of ideas of how to get through their list as soon as possible, and the ideas kept getting crazier until he just sat up in bed in frustration.

"Lots on your mind?"

"Yeah, brain is going on overdrive."

"Go sleep on the couch if you're going to toss and turn."

"How thoughtful and empathic of you." Robin glared at the man over his shoulder.

"I have no idea what those word mean," Slade smirked back at him. "We could fuck?" the man then offered. "That usually works."

"Thanks, I think I'll just try to fall asleep again," Robin muttered and turned back so the man wouldn't see the blush on his face.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

"The offer still stands, though. Any time."

"Generous."

"I'd say so."

Robin snorted and laid down again, His head was still full, but with other things this time.

"You'd really be ok with having sex?" he asked after a while.

"Why not?" Slade asked, sounding somewhat confused like if Robin had asked if he enjoyed breathing.

"Well, we're not exactly… you know… on the same side… normally."

"And?"

"So it would be just sex? No feelings involved? Practically jerking off but with assistance?"

"An interesting way of putting it, but yes?"

"Huh." Robin was quiet for a moment. "I might be interested in that." He waited until he felt the man turn towards him. "But not tonight, I'm finally getting sleepy." The teen fell asleep a bit later with a small smirk on his lips.

* * *

They were up early and managed to meet up with one of the couples on the suspect list, that was; people Bruce hadn't been able to identify or confirm actually being on this cruise. Some could be written off simply because of their age or build, and the unlikely team made very sure they weren't tricked by costumes and make up. Pretty soon they both noticed a couple of men, tall, buzz cut, serious looking and very quiet. Luckily the breakfast room

started to fill up by now so Robin's excuse of asking if the other two seats at their table were taken wasn't very suspicious.

"Hi, I'm Robin Wilson, this is my husband Slade," the teen said. He knew his phone was on and recording, but made sure to turn so it would catch both the men's faces.

"I'm Derek, this is Tim," the dark-haired of the men offered. His dirty-blond friend nodded and continued buttering his toast.

"Sorry for the bother," Slade said as he sat down. "This is our first cruise, I think Robin is a bit too eager to make friends."

"Just because you would prefer not to leave the cabin," the teen snorted.

"I have to say I understand him," Derek smirked, and Robin could feel the man undressing him. Tim just gave his supposed partner a look and rolled his eyes, sighing.

"Oh, you…" Robin close-to-giggled. "So are you going ashore? Do you know what there is to do?"

"Lots of outdoor activities, apparently… snorkeling, kite surfing… banana boat rides…"

"Oh, I need a picture of you on a big banana, Slade!" Robin snickered.

"Seems, fair, I have plenty of pics of _you_ riding one," the man leered, getting low chuckles from the other couple.

"Why did I marry you again?" the teen sighed.

"My big banana?"

"Watch it or there will be banana split for desert tonight," Robin warned the man before turning back to the other couple. "Ignore him, he thinks he's special." Judging by Tim's look the man somewhat agreed. "So what will it be for you? I wouldn't mind some snorkeling…"

The men exchanged looks. "We might. Haven't quite decided yet," Derek said.

"Fair enough," Robin said, waving the subject away. "Mmmm… this marmalade is divine, Slade! Try!" he urged before practically forcing a piece of bread into the man's mouth.

"Not as divine as you," the man purred after he managed to swallow the thing.

"Awww… love you," Robin purred back.

"Love you more," Slade answered, giving him a quick kiss.

"Newlyweds?" Derek asked dryly.

"Oh! Yeah… sorry. Sorry," Robin blushed, although it wasn't from the man's comment. "We'll be good now."

"How boring," Tim smirked, but then they all focused on breakfast.

"Do you know anyone onboard?" Robin asked as they were finishing up. Their strategy involved asking that as one 'innocent' couple could vouch for another.

"No. We like to stay pretty… private," Derek answered. Robin pretended to not get the hint but they had to let the couple go after that.

"What do you think?" the teen whispered to Slade when they were alone again.

"Possible, it will be interesting to see what the computer comes up with," Slade nodded. Robin turned his recording off and sent an extra message to the bat cave that the men were a priority to check up on.

After stalking the breakfast areas for as long as they dared they made their way to the place they were to disembark from. They were getting shipped into shore by tender boats and Slade and Robin were among the first to leave the ship, partly because of the suite they had came with that privilege. Once at shore they took refuge in the shade and furtively filmed everyone going ashore.

"I feel like such a creep," Robin joked as he pretended to show Slade something on a map.

"Welcome to the world of spying," the man chuckled.

"This world is also immensely boring," the teen admitted.

"Trust me, you don't want it to be too interesting," Slade let him know.

"It's our guys," Robin then whispered and nodded towards the two men they had had breakfast with. They were walking close together, talking, and seemed to be in no great hurry. "Should we follow them?"

"No. We have no proof."

"Then let's go get some," Robin said and dragged Slade back towards the tender boat which has just dropped off the last batch. "Excuse me?" he called out to the crew. "Can we go back?" he clutched his stomach and looked miserable. "I'm not feeling too well…"

"Of course, sir," the crewmember in charge said and Robin turned to lade.

"Honey, please, you don't have to go with me… I'm just going to be in our cabin anyway, feel free to go… just pick me a few seashells and buy me a souvenir, okay?" he said that to give the man a way out in case Slade thought the idea was bad or thought it was better to split up, but the man shook his head.

"Of course I'm going with you, love. I'll spoil you until you tell me to get the hell out and then I'll just spend the day by the pool," he grinned.

"Love you," Robin smiled back weakly, and was then helped on board.

A crew member followed them to their cabin just to make sure they had everything they needed and didn't have to call the ship's doctor. Robin assured her that it was only an upset stomach. "I think I can have lactose but my stomach doesn't agree," he joked.

As soon as the door closed on the staff member Slade was on the phone, contacting the bat cave.

"We need info on the two from breakfast, anything yet?"

"Negative, I can't find any matches of their names," Bruce replied, "The computer is running their faces through a face matching program but that will take a while."

"I'd say they are suspect enough to check out," Robin said. "Their cabin is on this floor. Let's go."

"Be careful," Bruce urged them.

The door locks were electronic and needed a key card, but that was no problem for Robin. Slade kept watch while the teen quickly gained access, but once the door opened Slade took over.

"Let me go through first, just in case. You look through their personal belongings, stay away from any locked bags and the like."

"Sure," Robin nodded. "Let's be quick."

Five minutes in and Slade had just unlocked a metal attaché case. He rummaged through it silently and then quickly shut it close. "We're leaving. Now."

"What…?" Robin asked, a bit alarmed.

"Now."

After making sure no one was in the hallway they quickly slipped out and were back into their room a moment later. Slade was already on the phone.

"Our targets, Derek and Tim," he told Bruce. "They are CIA. Run their photos through their system, through the fed one too, I think you'll find a match. Oh, and Derek Williams and Tim O'Locke."

"Will do." Bruce said and Robin could hear keys clicking over the speaker phone.

"CIA? You sure?"

"Recognized their set up. The case contained their real ID's or at least that's what I believe they are."

"Got a match, you were right," Bruce told them. "Damn," he added, "I thought we had something."

"Will they be any problem? Why are they here?" Robin asked.

"Might be after the same people we are," Slade shrugged.

"Could we work together?" the teen asked.

"No," Slade shook his head. "They will only be in the way."

"I have a feeling Slade will think they will be in _his_ way," Bruce muttered. "But for now, stay away from them. I don't want them to be too interested in your identity either, Robin."

"Yeah, okay," the teen agreed. "But that leaves us on square one again. Has the computer come up with anything else to go on?"

"There's three couples you need to check out as soon as possible. The Stefans, the Stormbergs and then Schmidt and Weber. They are all on your deck."

"Found them," Robin said, looking through the passenger list. "They might have left the ship, should we look through their rooms?"

"Do we have confirmation they left?" Slade asked Bruce.

"Not yet."

"Then it's too dangerous, but that doesn't mean we can't go check. I'll take the rooms towards the stern of the ship and you take the one towards the bow."

"And once I've figured out which is which I'm with you on that plan," Robin snorted.

"You go left in the hallway."

"Ok, got you," the teen grinned. "I'm going right now," he said and grabbed a piece of stationary from the stylish desk, which he scribbled the room number on.

Before he knocked on the door he fiddled with his phone, activating the live feed once more. He then knocked and waited. After a little bit he knocked again and was about to leave when the door finally opened, just a little.

"Hi!" Robin grinned, but then looked a bit nonplussed. "Um… I was looking for Robert?"

The man, later thirties early forties, perhaps, had a rounded face and glasses. His mousy brown hair seemed to be thinning at the top and for some reason he compensated that with wearing it slightly longer on the sides. The rest of him were thin if anything, making him look a little bit like a needle pin.

"I think you have the wrong room," the man smiled, not unkindly.

"Oh! Oh damn! I just scribbled it down…" Robin showed him the paper where he purposefully had written the number badly. "Does this look like a one to you, then?"

"Might be, might be," the man said. His voice reminded the teen of an English professor, for some reason, someone who weighed their words and enjoyed collection old dictionaries.

Robin could faintly hear the sound of another person moving inside but didn't see anyone.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you," he said, smiling apologetically. "I couldn't stay ashore today because of my stupid stomach so I hoped this guy I met had stayed behind too… oh, I'm sorry, I'm Robin Wilson!" he said, holding his hand out.

"Carl Schmidt," the man introduced himself. "My partner Victor has a bit of a sore back so we decided to take it easy today. Victor?" he added, calling into the room.

A somewhat younger man, early thirties at the most came to the door, clutching the side of his back with a strained expression. "Oh, hello," he smiled when he spotted Robin. "Victor Weber," he added and held out his hand. He was half a head taller than his older partner and had short but thick, auburn curly hair.

"Robin Wilson," the teen repeated. "I got the wrong room. What happened to your back, did you stretch something?"

"Yes, it's silly really. I will be better in a day or two, though."

"My husband is really good at muscle injuries," Robin said without having any idea if Slade had given anyone as much as a foreplay-back rub. "If you want to, I can bring him over? He just wanted to spend the day at the pool anyway, this way he'll at least be useful," he added with a grin.

"So that's why you went looking for company?" Carl asked teasingly.

"Well, I think he is a little bit annoyed with me for cancelling today's outing," Robin sighed, looking sad. "We had both really looked forwards to it. I told him to go himself, but… well."

"Is he a doctor?" Victor asked.

"Oh, no, not at all, he deals in stocks, but he's very athletic and has some kind of a license from when he was younger," Robin claimed. "For like sport accidents? I'm not sure… I mean, you probably should call the real doctor, he just helped my dad with his back the other week… I understand if you don't want to-"

"You know, why not? As long as he doesn't crack my back he can't do much harm," Victor said.

"You sure?" his partner asked, not sounding too pleased.

"I don't want to hobble along like this if I don't have to," the man answered.

"That's great, I'll go get him! He's probably not gone to the pool yet," Robin said and hurried off before the men had an opportunity to object.

To be Continued…

A/N: I think you know what scene I was talking about in the top A/N, and I can just IMAGINE the OUTRAGE if that was included in an actual book or TV-show or something… but screw those people, Slade is Slade and he doesn't care how the points are made as long as they are understood. And I think Robin did understand. Kinda. Maybe.

Aaaanyway, I wonder if Slade will be a good massage therapist… at least it's not open heart surgery. Unless something goes VERY wrong…


	3. Chapter 3: We're Expecting You

A/N: chapter 3! Please continue to tell me what you think. I'm trying to finish the story, but I have a university deadline and very blurry vision right now… still… trying, need support! 😉  
Now, will Slade be a good massage therapist ow will we have a death in this chapter? … or both…

 **Chapter 3: We're Expecting You**

"You told them I could do what?" Slade asked.

"Don't look at me like I claimed you were a ballet dancer!" Robin objected. "You must know something about muscles!"

"I have a healing factor," the man pointed out. "But sure. I have an idea, actually. Let me just get a few things together."

Robin breathed out. He then got a message from Bruce that the footage had been received and was being processed. It didn't take many minutes for Slade to get ready. Neither of the man's targets had answered the door, but as they weren't sure the couples were ashore it was too risky to break in just yet.

Soon they were knocking on the couple's door again and introductions were made. While Slade 'treated' Weber, Robin chatted with Carl, recording everything. He couldn't hear any non-english accent in either man's speech but the bat-caves computer could analyze every phoneme and sound pattern, making it almost impossible for someone to hide their real first language.

There were grunts and sighs from the bedroom where the treatment was going on and Carl looked amused.

"Sounds like they are having a bit too much fun in there."

"They better fucking not," Robin laughed. "So… we're from the west coast, where are you from?"

"We've been moving around. And west? I would have you pegged as an east coaster?"

"Yeah, I grew up in Gotham," Robin admitted. "Been in Jump now for quite a few years, though. Met Slade there, so I kinda stayed."

"There's… quite an age gap?"

"Heh, people always think I'm younger than I am, sometimes Slade is accused for cradle robbing, but yeah… I like it, though… We're different enough to make it interesting."

"I know what you mean," the other man grinned.

Robin realized that the man hadn't answered the original question and decided to push. "Sorry, you were from…?" he asked.

"Ah, yes… from all over, really. We're both from Europe, originally, but we've lived in the states since our younger days. Well… _My_ younger days."

"You've been together long?"

"We met about six years ago, now. Actually, we mainly like to take vacations together, we're not that tied down."

"Oh…? That's… interesting?"

"We both work a lot and like our things just so… if we tried to live together it would be a disaster," the man snorted. "But a few weeks a year we make an exception."

"What do you do for a living that allows that?" Robin asked.

"Oh, we both work in the computer business," the man shrugged and offered no other explanation. "What do you do yourself?"

"Well, like I said, Slade works with stocks, and I'm a PT," the teen said. He hadn't been very happy when that career had been decided for him in planning, but Slade had suggested that something physical would fit his body, and Robin had refused 'exotic dancer'.

"Ah, so you met at the gym?" the man asked.

"Exactly," Robin grinned, and that people would make that connection was another good reason for his 'job'. Yes, Slade was much more muscular than him, but there really wasn't a job that fit that would make him 'harmless' enough. Therefor the image of a very wealthy stock broker who now mostly worked more for fun than anything else and who had lots of time for physical activities had been thought up for him.

Robin was of course looking around the place as well, but it was spotless. He also didn't expect to find a folder marked "evil plans" or get the guy to reveal that they were assassins, all he was here for, really, was getting a feel of the men as well as record data to be analyzed.

"Wouldn't you be better at muscle problems than your husband, though… as a PT?" Carl asked.

Robin had to think quickly as the massage thing had not been part of the plan. "Yeah, I know the basics, but Slade's just really good at backs," he shrugged. "Takes some weight and strength to do it right," he added.

"I can hear that," Carl said as another drawn out grunt came from inside the room.

Robin knew Slade would try to draw it out as much as possible, but eventually the two men came out and the patient looked very relieved.

"It worked! I feel fine now!"

"Now, be careful," Slade told him. "What I have done is simply forcing the muscle to relax, so if you keep tensing up it will get really bad. Try to relax, don't move it around to much and you will feel a bit sore again tomorrow, that's normal."

"Thanks, man," Victor grinned and clasped Slade's hand.

"No problem, look us up later if it acts up again, and if you want to hit the gym in a few days…?"

"We'll be in touch," the curly-haired man smiled.

"I'll take my husband back now, please," Robin grinned and snuggled up to Slade. "I feel much better, sweetie, how about a swim?"

"Sounds good. We'll see you around," Slade nodded and they left.

"That was amazing, what did you do?" Robin whispered as they were out in the hallway.

"Well, one part was intimate knowledge of human anatomy."

"And the rest?"

"Basically, numbing lotion," Slade smirked.

"What?"

"I have an advanced medical kit with me, for your sake, actually, and I just mixed in some rather strong pain relief lotion with the lotion available in our quarters."

"What if they react with each other or something?"

"Well… I think it's fine. Besides, wouldn't they blame the ship's lotion? Allergy reactions are so unpredictable."

"You are unbelievable, but good work," Robin sighed.

"Maybe I can convince you to be on the receiving end of a massage tonight?"

"My phone is still on," Robin pointed out, taking it out of his pocket.

"Then turn it off and answer me," Slade leered down at him.

Robin turned the transmission off and smiled up at the man. "No."

"Tease."

"Maybe the offer just wasn't good enough?" Robin grinned and then gasped as the man pinned him to the wall, grasping his ass and lifting him up so the teen had no choice but to grab hold of him with both legs and arms so he wouldn't fall. The man's lips were on his a second later and the hero gasped as Slade's groin pushed against his own. He felt himself harden, quickly, but suddenly he was let down again, so suddenly that he almost dropped to the floor.

"Sorry," Slade said as he strolled away. "I thought I heard someone down the hall. Got to keep up appearances, you know…"

Robin muttered a few choice words as he walked, a bit stiffly, no pun intended, after the man.

"Hello, Master Robin,"

"Alfred! Hi! How are you? Is Bruce in a meeting?"

"I sent Master Bruce to bed for a few hours, he has been up almost around the clock for days," the butler let them know, causing Slade to chuckle.

"Some of us are only human, Slade," Robin said, glaring at the mercenary. "Any news for us?"

"I'm processing Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Weber as we speak. I will send you the results as soon as they are done."

"Thank you."

"Any progress on the Stefans or the Stormbergs?"

"No, they have most likely left the ship for the day. We're departing at five so they have to be back well before then."

"We have a photo of Marco Stefan," Alfred let them know and sent the information over. "There is no one by the name of his partner Juan Stefan, however, and according to social media, Marco is married with two kids, live in Sanderson, Texas, and is currently on a business trip in Hong Kong."

"So, stolen identity?" Slade asked.

"Possibly, Mr. Wilson," Alfred concurred.

"I don't know…" Robin said, looking at the photo. "I think I recognize him. We'll look into it as soon as we can. The Stormbergs, then?"

"We have no records of them but believe they are foreign. Photos might help as would some probing. We're trying to access the international passenger lists, but as we don't know where or when they came to the country…. Any information might help."

"Robin is very stingy about letting me do any probing," Slade muttered. The mercenary had probably not even meant for the old man to hear it, but Alfred had developed close to supernatural hearing after raising two boys who were both more than a handful.

"Master Bruce has asked me to order a selection of potato peelers for an experiment," the old man told them airily. "I think I'll get on that now…"

"Express delivery, I would think," Robin grinned. "We'll keep an eye out and have them tracked down by tonight. Can you set up the system so the onboard surveillance camera warns us is anyone goes in or out of their cabins?"

"As you wish, Master Robin. Take care now," Alfred said and the call ended.

"So… what do we do now?" Robin asked.

"We said we were going to the pool and we might as well," Slade shrugged. "Most people who has stayed behind are probably there."

"Yes, but which pool? The one on this deck?" their suit was situated on what was called the Lido-deck, the fifteenth, one of the more luxurious decks on the ship. It only had 73 room at the front while the rest was made up of outdoor pool area, restaurants and shops.

"The pools here are among the biggest, so let's start here at least." Slade said. "And if our targets haven't actually left the ship, they might be there."

"Alright, getting changed," Robin said and grabbed his swimming trunks. Slade, who obviously saw no point in changing in private started to unbutton his pants. The teen considered staying for the show but had a feeling that the man would demand one in return.

The pool area was rather deserted as most people were enjoying a day ashore.

"Hello, Mr. Wilson, feeling better?" It was their cabin steward who had clearly been informed of Robin's 'illness'.

"Oh, yes, thank you. It was just a temporary thing."

"If you would like to there's still time to explore the island?" the man offered.

"No, we've decided to enjoy the pool by ourselves. It will be packed tomorrow, we assume," Robin smiled.

"As you wish. I'll send someone over from the bar," the steward smiled. A waitress was already on her way, and soon they had tall umbrella drinks and salty snacks on the low table between their deck chairs. Robin's drink was alcohol free, he had no intention of repeating yesterday's little blunder.

He had one of the ships complimentary tote bags with him and was now digging through that for the sun screen.

"I'll do your back if you do mine?" he offered Slade.

"I don't really need it. Healing factor," the man answered, making sure his voice didn't travel.

"Sure, but it looks suspicious, maybe?" Robin shrugged.

"Alright," Slade admitted. "You might be right."

"Yay, I'm right!" Robin snickered and turned towards the man. Slade was wearing a pair of black swim trunks that reached just below the middle of his thighs and were tight in all the right places. Robin himself was wearing a red pair, which Slade had remarked and joked about, which was a shorter model, though not a speedo by far. Slade turned around and Robin ran his hands over the man's shoulders in a quick stroke, determined to stay professional. That plan went out the window pretty soon, however, when the teen discovered the pleasure of sliding his hands up and down the wide, muscular back.

"You are going to burn yourself if you keep that up much longer," Slade drawled after a bit.

"Mmh…"

"Robin!"

"Huh? Yeah? What?"

"Your turn."

Having the man's hands touch him was almost as good, though, but the mercenary didn't stop with his back. He suddenly slid his hands under the teen's arms and caressed his chest as well.

"Slade!" Robin gasped. "You- You can't- aah!" the man's fingers had just introduced themselves to his nipples with following mutual enjoyment. "Slade!" Robin said again, hissing this time. "We're in public!"

"You wouldn't let me do it in private…" the man purred, pulling their bodies so close that the teen's back was sliding against Slade's chest.

"People are looking!" Robin almost whined.

"They are jealous of me," the man claimed with a low chuckle.

"Okay, okay, you win! You win whatever we're playing, just please, please stop?" Robin begged quietly.

"It's almost too much fun," the man complained, but let his hands slowly stop and kissed Robin's neck as they separated.

"Now I have to lie down," Robin muttered as he, legs crossed, tried to cover the rest of himself in sun block.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Slade chuckled.

"Well, I am a teen; it doesn't take much," Robin, red in the face by now, claimed.

"Aw. Hurtful. Go jump in the pool and I'll film you and the pool area for the computer," Slade told him. He was still sitting behind the teen, one knee on either side.

"Why don't you go and I film?" Robin suggested. Slade then grabbed his hand and pulled it behind the teen's back. Robin actually, for a split second, thought the man intended to hurt him, but then his palm was placed against a lump clad in silky bathing shorts material. His fingers automatically closed around it as his brain was trying to figure out what he was feeling. When the coin dropped he hastily pulled his hand back.

"Alright, so we both need a minute?" he breathed.

"U-huh," Slade agreed.

"Does that mean it was a tie?"

"No. I wouldn't have stopped," Slade chuckled. "What could they do? Throw us off?"

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"I'm sure cruises like these have seen worse."

"Probably, yes."

"Did you know most major cruise ships has a morgue?"

Robin blinked. "Oh my god, _what kind of sex are you thinking about_?" he exclaimed, probably loud enough for some of the other sunbathers to hear.

"It was just a random fact I thought of. Actually _not_ trying to think about sex," Slade defended himself.

"Well… the morgue kinda worked…" Robin said and stood up. "Ready with the camera?"

"Yes, go ahead."

Robin smiled and waved at the camera. "Hi guys! We're having a great time, just look at this place!" he said and gestured around him, prompting Slade to film the whole deck, including the few people scattered around it. It might not be close enough to identify many of them, but they could hope. "I'm gonna test the pool now, hope it's raining at home!" With that the teen dived nicely into the closest pool and the little film session was over.

"Mmm… this is nice… like a real vacation," the young hero mumbled an hour later. His body, like Slade's, was glittering from water droplets and he was stretched out on a sunbed under a parasol to dry. Slade was on the bed next to him, very close, and their fingers were entangled. They didn't _have_ to be touching, of course, but it was a mix of keeping up with the charade as well as Robin getting a rather big kick out of "forcing" Slade to be affectionate. Sure, the man was usually the first to grope and kiss, but he was no good when it came to these small gestures.

"Remember that we're working," the man mumbled. His voice was so sleepy that Robin turned his head to look over at him, and discovered that the man's eyes were closed and he looked like he didn't have a care in the world.

"You're cute like this… why can't you always be like this?" he teased him.

"I'm getting paid," the man almost yawned. Robin giggled.

"Who needs a trust fund anyway?" he asked himself aloud, making the man smirk.

Robin suddenly tensed.

"The Stefans spotted. They are sitting down by the bar."

"Good thing I just got thirsty," Slade grunted, sounding like he actually would have preferred to stay where he was. "I'm going to get us something to drink, make first contact."

" _You_?" Robin asked mockingly.

"I _am_ capable of talking to people," the man grunted.

"Alright, alright, you go play nice now," the hero grinned at him.

Barely a minute later he was called over.

"Robin! Come meet our new friends!"

The teen almost lost it at hearing the mercenary uttering those words but turned his expression into a friendly smile and ambled over.

Introductions were made. The couple seemed amiable enough, both just a little bit tipsy.

"Smile!" Robin said after they all got a second round of drinks, and took a selfie, making sure the couple's faces were clearly visible. "Can I post this on facebook? Oh, can I add you? We should make a group for everyone on this cruise!"

Marco Stefan suddenly turned very pale.

"No! no, I'm… You can't- I…"

"Huh?" Robin played stupid.

"Don't post anything on facebook, ok?" the man said hurriedly. Robin kept an eye on the man's partner, Juan, as well, and he was suddenly looking disgruntled.

"Ok, sure man… but why?" he asked.

"I'm just… you know… not a fan of social media," the man tried to shrug the whole thing off.

"Let me guess," Slade said and swiped his drink. "Not out of the closet back home?"

"He's married," Juan muttered.

"Juan!" Marco exclaimed.

"Well, you are! With two kids! And we've been together since high school!"

"Oh, shit…" Robin said, actually feeling a bit bad. "Sorry. I had no idea…"

"Yeah, well, I'm getting tired of it," Juan mumbled and you could hear his voice cracking a bit. "I'm going back to our cabin. Later."

"Man, I'm really sorry," Robin mumbled to the remaining man, who was staring down into his glass.

"No, don't be… this is my fault… I just… if you don't mind…?" it was clear the man wasn't in the mood for company anymore so Slade and Robin excused themselves, and then made sure the Batcave had received all the info. A moment later Juan was identified as a single man living in the same town, and the school records showed that they had indeed been in high school together.

"I guess they are off the list," Robin said. "Poor people."

"Idiots," Slade snorted with his usual empathic humanist outlook on life.

Robin only shrugged, because he could see the man's point of view too. Slade wouldn't let anything stand in the way of what he wanted, least of all the opinions of a small Texas town.

"At least that's one more couple off the list. We need to find the Stormbergs, though, and we don't know what they look like."

"No, but we know where they live," Slade pointed out, "And that clever computer of Bruce's will tell us when they are home. Let's have dinner with them tonight."

"What if they have made reservations? We're not going to be able to just squeeze in if we don't have any?"

"Let's check if they have, then… there has to be a booking system."

"Ok, let me try to find out," Robin said. "That cute bartender over there has been checking me out."

"He _is_ cute, ask him if he wants to be in a threesome," Slade smirked,

"I'm not having a threesome with you and the bartender," Robin snorted.

"I wasn't inviting you." The man's smirk widened.

"Asshole."

"Damned if I do, damned if I don't," Slade sighed, looking overdramatically sorry for himself. "Go flirt."

Robin did, although slightly reluctantly now, as Slade didn't seem to have a problem with it. The teen sighed to himself. Who did he, Robin, think he was? Slade was not the kind of guy that would lift a finger to actually _woo_ him. The mercenary didn't care. Sure, he'd fuck him if there was an opportunity to, but more than that? No. Well, the bartender _was_ cute, so maybe a bit of a flirt wouldn't be too bad…

"Hi!" Robin started, and got a dazzling smile in return. The bartender had that really dark brown skin that actually almost looked black, and he wore his hair in braids which created amazing patterns on his scalp before falling down to a bit below his shoulders.

"Hi, what can I do for you Mr. Wilson? Another Virgin Sun Kiss?"

"Mmm… wouldn't _that_ be nice…?" Robin purred, but then chuckled. "No, thank you, I just have a question for now… We have a couple of friends and they have an anniversary today. We wanted to surprise them with a gift at dinner, but we don't know if they have booked dinner onboard tonight… If not, we were thinking of booking a table for all four of us, but they have an interior cabin, so would our booking privileges even extend to them? Sorry, sorry, so many questions…" he said, having done so intentionally to see what the guy might be willing to help with. The first thing he did was actually very helpful, because he glanced at the small computer next to him. That told Robin that there was indeed a way to book and see bookings right there.

"Well, Sir, I can't tell you about other guest's arrangements-"

"No, of course not! No, no, no, I understand," Robin said and then looked sad and sighed. "Can we book them, though… Or is that against the rules?"

"Your booking privileges is only valid for the guests in your suite, I'm afraid," the man said and now Robin looked really crestfallen.

"Ah… I see. Of course. Thank you. I guess we'll have to try to stalk them or something… this place is too big."

"They might not even have made a reservation," the man pointed out.

"Oh, of course! You… you wouldn't be able to tell me just if they have or not? I know it's stretching the limits, though, I'm so sorry!" he hurriedly said.

"Well, I… I shouldn't…" the bartended hesitated, looking into the big, clear blue, innocent eyes of the young man in front to him. And caved. "You won't tell anyone?" he asked.

"Not a soul! Well, maybe my husband, because I can feel he's already getting a bit jealous," he joked. "But of me or you, I couldn't say," Robin added with a flirty smile.

"What- What was the name?" the man stammered a bit, possibly nervous about angry husbands of Slade's size.

"Stormberg," the teen said.

A few clicks later and the bartender nodded. "They have booked a sitting tonight."

"Aw, darn. Well… okay, so you can't of course tell me where," Robin said.

"No, Sir, Sorry."

"Buuuut…" the teen added with a naughty grin. "It's practically your job to recommend where we eat, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"So, would you recommend say… Italian, for us, tonight? Or… French?"

"You're impossible, Sir," the man grinned at him.

"I know," Robin snickered.

"Well… I'd like to recommend French cuisine tonight, Sir."

"Lovely. And when do you recommend that we book a table?"

The bartender sighed, shook his head, but smiled as he started typing on the keyboard again. "I've made reservations for you for eight o'clock, a very nice table, I think you'll like it."

"If I wasn't already married…" Robin grinned and winked at the man, who just grinned back, looking slightly embarrassed. "Thank you so much," the teen added. "You know what? I think I'll have that drink after all."

"That took you a while," Slade muttered as he came back, happily sipping the fruity goodness that was his new favorite non-alcoholic drink.

"We're having dinner at Le Rouge tonight at eight."

"Well worth the time, then?"

"Oh, yes," Robin smiled happily and took another sip.

"You don't have to look so damned pleased about it."

"Well, it's always nice to talk to a man who appreciates you," Robin smirked.

Their phones then went off and Slade smirked back. "Guess you'll have your chance now."

"Ass," the teen snorted and answered.

"It's me, I have some information," Bruce said, "Can you talk?"

"We're hanging out at the pool, having a great time," "Robin answered. "But I think it's time to get out of the sun…. can I call you back?"

"Yes, good," Bruce said and hung up.

"Back to work," the teen sighed.

"Okay, so what do you have for us?" Robin asked a few minutes later when they were back in their cabin.

"It's about Schmidt and Weber, there are no matches so far, which tells me that at least their names are fake. The voice analysis came up all over the place, but there are some strong traces from Europe and Weber at least has some traces from Eastern Europe, but nothing definitive."

"Their names are German," Slade pointed out. "Not that that means anything, but that they both have German-sounding names can be more than a coincidence."

"It could," Bruce agreed, "But it's not saying much. I'm working on accessing German personal registries as well as, of course, Russian, but they are well guarded nowadays."

"See if you can learn something to help keeping unwanted people from hacking _our_ systems," Robin said dryly and glared at Slade, who looked smug.

"Yes, well…" Bruce looked rather embarrassed but continued. "U.S immigration and border records gave me nothing. Facial recognition is working constantly in the background but so far, no matches."

"So I assume they are at the top of the list for now, huh?" Robin concluded.

"For now, yes." Bruce nodded.

"I don't know. If I was an assassin, I wouldn't let people into my cabin to massage me," the teen joked.

"Said the hero who has practically been holding hands nonstop with an assassin for the last couple of hours," Slade drawled. "These people make sure to fit in and not make any enemies that might remember them or complain about them. If anything, it's suspicious if people are _too_ approachable."

"I really love this mission," Robin sighed. "So, what's next? We're going to meet the Stormbergs tonight, but I guess we have to go through the 'German's' cabin?"

"You should, yes. As soon as possible."

"The ship will be at sea all day tomorrow," Robin pointed out. "We need to be very sure that they won't come back…"

"We'll make it happen. We'll try to run into them again and try to figure out what they have planned." Slade sounded confident.

"Good. Good luck tonight, and I'll send you more info as soon as I have some. Which reminds me, even more couples have now checked out, so the list is shrinking, at least. I'm sending the new one over."

"Thanks, good," Robin smiled. "Later."

As soon as he ended the call Robin headed for the door. "I'm going over to the Germans to see if they are in."

"Alright, I'm taking a shower. Keep your phone on live feed to me, just in case."

"Sure," Robin said and fiddled with it for a bit. "There, is it working?" Slade logged into his phone and nodded. "Good, then I'm off, I'll only be a few minutes."

Robin knocked on the door and Victor Weber answered this time.

"Hi again!" Robin smiled. "How's your back?"

"It's much better, thank you," the man answered. "We are going to take a stroll or maybe take a dip in the pool."

"Sounds great. Sorry to disturb you, but I didn't leave my sunglasses here, did I?"

"Your sunglasses?" the man got a funny expression on his face, like he knew the teen was making the excuse up.

"Yeah… A pair of Ray-Ban Predator 2 with a dark red rim?"

"Like the one's you're wearing?"

Robin's jaw dropped and then he felt the top of his head 'finding' his glasses.

"I asked Slade about them!" he said. "He just laughed! I'm gonna kill him!"

"Not sure it's worth ending a life over something like that," the man said, looking amused.

"I told him I was going over here to ask, so blame him if I was a bother," the teen muttered. "Anyway, we've just come back from the pool and I can really recommend it. It's practically deserted. We need to get something to eat now, though, before I starve. Sorry again!" he said and waved as he hurried away.

When he entered the cabin Slade was wearing a towel around his hips.

"Good excuse," the man approved.

"Well…" Robin said and then mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?" the man demanded to know.

"I… actually didn't know they were on my head…" Robin admitted.

"You clearly really need some food," Slade chuckled. "And as we're eating fancy tonight, how about a slice of pizza?"

"I'm not saying no to that," the teen said eagerly, and his stomach agreed. "But the Germans were going to leave, shouldn't we wait for that?"

"I didn't like the sound of them not knowing exactly what to do. They might decide to come back at any moment. Let's grab a late lunch first and then see if we can find them."

Robin agreed, maybe overruled by his stomach.

 _To be Continued…_

A/N: next week we're gonna meat the Stormbergs, plans are gonna fail and dreams are gonna come true… 😉


	4. Chapter 4: Life's Sweetest Reward

A/N: I've gotten some comments about what people were looking forwards to in this chapter and you're all perverts. Good for you. A mind in the gutter is a happy mind. It should be labeled, like free-range chicken. 😉

 **Chapter 4: Life's Sweetest Reward**

They had just ordered some pizza slices when their phones dinged.

"They left their room," Slade said, checking the message.

"Ok, hope we can find them then," Robin mumbled, stuffing his face with breadsticks.

"It's a big ship but I'll bet you they are by the pool on our deck."

"What do you wanna bet? Robin grinned,

"For you to deepthroat something more interesting than a piece of bread?" Slade smirked, making Robin start coughing.

"Not…" Robin had to pause to cough again, "… taking that bet."

"Pity," Slade sighed.

When they headed back they saw the Germans by the pool and waved.

"I'm checking their cabin out," Slade decided. "Stay here, have a drink, warn me if they leave."

They kissed and Robin ordered his drink, something strawberry-filled this time, and settled down with his phone, far enough from the men so he could make the call if just one of them left. All of a sudden they both reached for their phones and hurried off towards the living quarters.

"Get out! Now!" Robin hissed into his phone.

"Aye-aye," Slade said and Robin waited with baited breath until the man came back out to the pools, wearing swim trunks and with a towel over his shoulders.

"You must have really have hurried," Robin whispered as they pretended to make out.

"I think I ripped my balls off and left them in the fly of my jeans when I changed," Slade grunted.

Robin snickered devilishly and carefully cupped the front of the man's trunks. "I think they are still here," the said innocently.

"I swear that if I didn't think I'd get in trouble for it, I'd fuck you into the deck right here," the man half growled, half chuckled. "But focus on the job, you little vixen. What happened?"

"Just a few minutes after you left, their phones seemed to go off and they ran."

"A room alarm. Must have been," the man growled. "Dammit. Now they might be suspicious."

Robin just spotted the men coming back, talking agitatedly.

"Let's go talk to them," he suggested, and as Slade agreed he took the man's hand and walked over there,

"Did something happen?" Robin said. "I was just about to walk over to you when you guys bolted."

"Oh, it was nothing," Carl claimed but his smile was tense. "We think… well…"

"We think someone was breaking into our room." Victor let them know.

"What, really?!" Robin grabbed Slade's arm and clung to it. "There's thieves onboard? How did you find out?"

"Well, we… prefer to have a little extra security so we have a motion detector." Carl admitted.

"We need one of those too!" Robin told Slade. "Where do you get one? Did you see the thief? Slade, when you went to change, did you see anyone suspicious?"

"Well, there was someone from room service carrying a bottle of champagne, talking on the phone… something about confirming a room number?" Slade said hesitantly. "And then there was a cleaning crew leaving our cabin, but if it was them, they still would have been there… unless they were just dropping something off, like clean towels?"

"I guess, we didn't look around," Carl shrugged, looking displeased.

"Oh, I hope it was just something like that!" Robin said. "Slade, please, can you search our cabin when we go back?"

"Relax, Robin, I'm sure everything is fine," Slade said, kissing the top of his head, and pulling him close. "His place got robbed last year before he moved in with me. He's a bit jumpy about these things," he explained to the other couple.

"Who wouldn't be?!" Robin said and turned to the Germans himself. "You need to report this!" He knew he was treading on very thin ice now, because if the couple _did_ report it, the cameras would be checked. On the other hand, he was certain Slade or Bruce would be able to fix it in time.

"It was probably just a mistake," Victor said. "No need to worry anyone."

"And don't you worry either," Carl told the young hero, "I'm sure this is a safe place. It just gave us a bit of a scare. Who knows, it might have been set off by a bug. A butterfly or big wasp, perhaps, we don't know how sensitive these things are."

"Oh!" Robin exclaimed, "Slade, do you remember when the alarm went off in your office because the window wasn't closed? The curtains?"

"Oh, yes, that was quite a mess," Slade said. "I had to buy my secretary chocolate to stop her from crying."

"Was our balcony door open?" Victor asked Carl, who looked thoughtful and then visibly relaxed.

"You know what? I think we did leave it open… mystery solved, then!"

"That's such a relief," Robin sighed, and hugged Slade tight. "Now, get that gorgeous body of yours wet, big guy! I need something else to think about!"

"I'm so tempted to just throw you in there," Slade growled playfully.

"You'll owe me a new phone if you do?" Robin warned him.

"Right. See you in a bit then," the man chuckled and turned around.

"But I _want_ a new phone!" Robin complained, jokingly acting like a spoiled brat, including stomping his foot.

Slade just laughed at him and dived into the water. It was a perfect dive and Robin secretly wanted a slow-motion video of it all, including Slade surfacing and shaking his head, sending water droplets everywhere.

"You really love that man, don't you?" Carl's chuckled next to him. "That look of pure devotion is either love or obsession."

"Probably a bit of both," Viktor joined in.

"R-right," Robin stammered, feeling like the men had poured ice over his head. It was perfectly fine as he was supposed to be acting, though, and it was acting he had done. Right? Apart from the fact that he had completely forgotten that the Germans were even there.

* * *

"You're a bit quiet," Slade said later, as they had returned to their suite to see if there was any new information for them. He was still just wearing his swim trunks, still damp, while Robin was in shorts and a buttoned-down short sleeved shirt. The teen had plopped down onto the two-seat crème colored sofa, that stood across the room from the bed, and was idly fiddling with his phone.

"I- no, I've just been thinking…" Robin said and then actually thought of something to say.

"We need to delete the footage of you breaking into their cabin!"

"Already done." Slade sank down into a chair opposite him. "Whenever we're up to anything like that a loop starts playing."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We didn't think of it until after the fact. I called Bruce while I was walking back to the pool."

"Must have been quick."

"Well, he had already thought of it," the man admitted and picked up a magazine from the cruise line and slowly started flipping the pages in it.

"Ah. Of course. Should have known. He's a planner."

"And still he wanted you on this ship with that archer."

"I'm actually starting to wonder about that," Robin smirked. "How the hell did you hack our call anyway?"

"I had it set up to signal me every time you spoke, to try to break through."

"And how long did it take you to do that?"

"That time was the first time."

"He let you in," Robin realized.

Slade gave the teen a flat look over the top of the magazine and then sighed. "You might be right."

"I should be angry but I shouldn't be surprised," Robin snorted. "Makes me wonder about your mission too."

"No, that one's legit, I know that much," Slade objected.

"Well, okay," the teen shrugged, "So he just wanted you here with me, then."

"He wanted to make sure you were well protected… like he said, I'm not a bad choice for these kinds of things. I have to admit that I wondered why our 'intimate' moments didn't bother him more…"

"To Bruce it's a means to an end-kind of thing. He can take any pretty woman anywhere as a cover, he has done it hundreds of times, he just assumes I can do that too."

"Well you can. Obviously." Slade told him, but when Robin avoided eye contact, the man studied him closer, lowering the magazine completely. "Can't you?"

"Of course!" Robin snorted. "No problem."

"If things get a bit too intense, just tell me," the mercenary let him know. "But if you feel affected… you're not alone."

Robin blinked a bit owlishly at him. "I'm… not?"

"I've found myself wishing our little act out there was real," the man admitted. "At least that it could carry on a little longer."

"Long enough for us to fuck?" Robin asked dryly.

"You're saying that like it's a bad thing."

The young hero snorted and looked down at his phone again.

"Ah," Slade said, almost to himself. "You think I'm attracted to you only because of your looks?"

Robin glanced up at the man once more. "Aren't you?"

"I _can_ have sex with someone only because they are attractive, of course," Slade said thoughtfully. "But that's rare. I think I more often sleep with people for information or strategy than pure attractiveness."

"Oh, that's comforting. You know, just feel free to ask me any questions you might have, I'll be happy to spare you the trouble," the teen drawled.

"What I'm trying to say is that I am usually more than physically attracted to someone I want to sleep with. You're cute and have a great ass, but if that was all you had to offer…"

"You'd still sleep with me if I'd let you," Robin snorted.

"Well, yes. But I wouldn't be this interested," Slade admitted. "Part of it might be the forbidden aspect of it all… I think you know what I mean."

"Yeah, sure. Hero-villain, the age difference, that we have to act like we do and… well… Batman knowing about it… Stop grinning! I know it's sick!" Robin grunted. "Is it dinner time yet?"

"Not quite yet," Slade purred, put down the magazine and moved over to the sofa. "We still have some time."

"Oh, we do?" Robin grinned and let himself be pulled close by the man,

"Indeed," Slade confirmed and kissed him deeply.

Once the man moved his lips to the teen's neck Robin could talk again. "You're not interested in if _I'm_ attracted to _you_?" the teen asked sweetly.

Slade pulled back. At this point Robin was more or less in his back on the small sofa with Slade on top of him.

"It was strongly implied that you were," Slade said dryly.

"Well, you seemed more interested in your own feelings," the teen continued just as dryly.

"Alright," Slade said and suddenly Robin was thrown up over the man's shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" the hero grunted.

"Making us more comfortable," the man claimed, took nine or ten steps until he reached the bed and dropped the hero down on it. The teen barely had time to react before the man was on top of him, kissing him again. "Now," Slade said, pausing for a moment, "Tell me about your feelings."

"The hate is rather prominent right now," Robin growled.

"No, no, _I_ was honest. Be honest, Robin," the man said. "And while you are being honest, I'm going to show you my appreciation for that honesty."

"What… what do you mean?" the teen asked. His stomach was absolutely full with very nervous butterflies, but he wasn't pushing the man away. And he didn't understand why he wasn't pushing the man away either.

"Just start talking."

"I… well… you're attractive," Robin admitted, blushing as he did so. Slade smirked and started unbuttoning the teen's shirt, kissing every piece of exposed skin.

"Well? Go on?" the man said and paused.

"You… you're a… a very good kisser – AAAH Mmmmm…." Robin moaned as the man's lips found his nipples. "Oh, god, that… keep… doing… that…"

"If you keep talking," Slade smirked down on him.

"You're… driving me insane…" Robin objected, which Slade obviously took as a compliment, "When you touch me out there… I can't help it… I…. I…" Robin suddenly lost the ability to speak, because Slade had taken hold of the elastics to his shorts and was looking at him, seemingly for permission. "Damn, you…. Yes!" the teen grunted and lifted his hips. A moment later he was bare, with the man pressing their groins together. "Ah! Your shorts! Cold!" Robin objected.

"You just want to see me naked," Slade teased him.

Robin met his gaze calmly. "Yes," he admitted, a little nervous grin playing on his lips.

"As you wish," the man grinned and soon he was naked too. "I want you to consider that I've been wearing cold, wet trunks…" the man added, making the teen laugh. Slade then went back to kissing his chest again. Going lower. "Well, continue," the man added, raising his head.

"You're impossible," Robin sighed, letting his head fall back and closed his eyes to fully enjoy the feeling of the man's hot lips on his skin. "I've been… I've been thinking about you… for… for a while… even before… before this." Robin couldn't talk, he could only gasp out the words as the man went lower and lower.

"Mhmm?" Slade urged on.

"It was just physical!" Robin defended himself. "Come on, please!" he added as the man didn't move. "Okay… okay… it was…. Your voice…. You voice made… made my knees wea-ooooh, yes! Mmm… yes, yes… I…" Slade had reached the place the teen had hoped for and Robin grabbed the man's hair, trying for more of the amazing sensation. He should have known Slade wouldn't allow that. His arms were grabbed and forced down to his sides for a moment before Slade let go again. It was a clear warning, however. The young man barely noticed and didn't care. His whole body was as tense as a bow string about to snap. Suddenly, however, something forced itself in where the teen wasn't ready for it to be. He was instantly brought back from the edge and kicked out at the man, missing badly as Slade was between his legs.

"Calm down, it's just a finger," the man snorted.

"It's _your_ finger! You have _huge_ hands!" Robin objected. "And I wasn't ready."

"You were doing so well I thought you deserved a reward," the man chuckled.

"I'll be happy to 'reward' you with the complimentary champagne bottle over there," Robin groaned. He had started to like the feeling, though, quite a bit. It got better when he man moved his finger and crooked it a little. "Oh! Oh! Okay, you're forgiven!" the teen gasped.

Slade reached for something among the discarded things littering the bed and then his finger disappeared only to return a moment later covered in something cold.

"What- what is that?" Robin asked.

"Let's just say that there's a specific spot where you won't get skin cancer," the man leered down at him. Then he started working in another finger.

"I- I'm going to need your mouth, ok?" the young hero pleaded, as he tried to relax. Slade granted his wish and a little while later Robin had no problems with having two fingers pushing in and out of him, quite the opposite. "I… I think I'm ready," he told the man.

"Music to my ears," Slade admitted.

The boy took a deep breath as he felt the man get in position. He wanted this, for some inexplicit reason. He knew it would be uncomfortable in the beginning, maybe even painful, but he wanted this more than the man's mouth, which was only pure pleasure…. Was he stupid?

"You have a very peculiar expression on your face," Slade chuckled. "It's like you're wondering where you are…"

"More how I got into this situation," Robin grinned bravely back. "Come on, do it! Before I come to my senses!"

"Wouldn't want that to happen," the man agreed and put a little pressure on the teen's opening.

"HOLY SH-!" Robin gasped when the head of the man's cock suddenly plopped inside. "Horses are _not_ supposed to ride people!" he added, somewhat randomly.

"Shhh, relax little filly," Slade ordered him with laughter in his voice.

"…riding crop…." Robin muttered among inaudible words. His muttered rant was quieted by a kiss, however, and suddenly the world didn't seem so bad anymore. The cramp he had initially felt lessened and, as the man sank deeper inside him, he moaned into the kiss and rose up to meet him. It didn't take long for them to find a rhythm. They worked well together in the past, after all, so it somehow came naturally to move in sync as grunts, moans and the sound of naked skin slapping together filled the cabin.

"I… I can't…. Much longer…" Robin whined and arched so high that he almost broke his back when Slade grabbed his cock and started pumping it. After that it was pointless to even try to fight the surge inside him and his movements became faster and erratic, but so did Slade's. The climax was easily the most powerful one Robin had ever experienced, not only because of what was physically happening to his body, but it seemed his whole consciousness was flooded with pleasure that hit him like several waves. Once they died down, he felt Slade roll off him, stay still for a little bit and then stand up. Robin watched with lidded eyes as the man disappeared into the bathroom.

So… that was that… Robin sighed. What would happen now? Would Slade continue as he had or just ignore him now when he got what he wanted? Sure, it had been what Robin had wanted too, but he wasn't sure he would be able to deal with getting the cold shoulder from the man after this, and of course he would, because Slade was all about sex. He frowned irritably and closed his eyes. Screw feeling sorry for himself! It had been great, he had wanted it, it was over. It was time to move on.

The bed dipped behind him and Robin's eyes shot open when he felt Slade laying down behind him and kiss his shoulder.

"Did you fall asleep?" the man asked, sounding amused.

"N-no, just… resting…?" Robin said, feeling a bit unsure.

"Let me help you."

The teen was too sunned to move as he suddenly get a damp warmth against his ass.

"What-?" he asked, looking down. He discovered that it was a wet towel. Slade was cleaning him up from the lotion and the cum and- well Robin hoped not anything else, but he wasn't going to ask.

"There." Slade said, threw the towel onto the bathroom floor through the open door and then settled in behind the teen again. "That was nice, wasn't it?"

"The… the towel?"

The man laughed. "Well, I was hoping the sex would be more of a high point…"

"Oh… yes. I mean, yeah! It was great!"

"Glad to hear it. You were just as amazing as I knew you would be," the man almost whispered before he pulled him close and kissed his neck and shoulder again.

Robin didn't know if it was the hormones or Slade's very unexpected tenderness, but he felt himself tear up. Avoiding looking back at Slade, because the young hero would rather die than let the mercenary see that he was close to crying, he took a hold of the arm that was now encircling him, pulled Slade's hand up to his mouth and kissed the man's knuckles and fingers tenderly. Slade made a deep, content hmmm-ing sound and laid down completely. A moment later they were both asleep.

"We're late! Get up!" Slade barked, startling the teen almost out of his skin.

"So much for that romance," Robin muttered and yelped as he was lifted up and practically thrown into the shower.

"We have fifteen minutes to shower, change into formalwear and be at dinner!" he was told.

"Holy shit!" Robin gasped and then cursed a bit more as the water was still cold. He showered in record time in a very cramped space as Slade was there with him. In the end they just made it, and the flush on Robin's cheeks could be from anything, really. At least no one took note of it.

Slade held out Robin's chair for him and the teen tried to stifle a giggle. They were in public now and the act was on again, of course, but considering what had just happened it was funny to him somehow. They looked around and carefully tried to figure out who the Stormbergs were. Robin assumed they had been seated close to them and using the power of deduction, which only was based on the fact that he recognized the other two couples and knew their names, he carefully nodded to the third one. Seated there were two tall, blond men talking a language Robin couldn't understand. The tables were set out so they could be pulled together for bigger companies, but right now they were set for intimate couple's dining.

"How do we approach them?" Robin whispered. The good thing about Slade's hearing was that he didn't have to whisper loudly. Slade shrugged, so he was on no help. Robin snorted and excused himself to pretend to go to the bathroom. He made sure to film the men as he passed. When he came back, he stopped at their table.

"Hi, I'm so sorry to disturb you," he said, and when he only got curious looks in return, he pressed on, "the language you're speaking… I can't place it?"

"Oh, it's Swedish," one of the men smiled.

"You're from Sweden?! That's exotic! Don't tell me you're on vacation all the way over here?"

"That we are," the other man answered and looked a bit proud. "Three weeks. We've been to Disney World too… Seen most of Florida, in fact."

"I feel I might have to apologize for our nation," Robin joked. "Oh, and for myself! I forgot to introduce myself; I'm Robin Wilson. The hunk over there is my new husband, Slade."

"Do you have an old husband I don't know about?" Slade spoke up, and then rose as well to shake hands with the Swedes.

"So you're on your wedding trip too? I mean… umm… honey moon?" blond number one said. They both spoke clearly but the Scandinavian accent was evident. "I'm Andreas Strömberg, and this is Linus." They looked rather alike, Robin could have guessed that they were brothers. Their hair was the same light blond color, though Linus' hair curled a little bit at the tips. They had the same build too, and, Robin guessed, about the same height.

"Strumberg?" Robin tried, to the men's delight. The 'ö' sounded a bit like the 'I' in "girl' but it wasn't easy to mimic, especially with the rolling 'r'.

"Good enough. Actually, the ship got it wrong so we're apparently called Stormberg here," the man struggled. "We're used to having the letter 'ö' changed for an 'o', of course, but now they managed to misplace letters as well," he smiled.

"It's been just slightly annoying as nothing matched, so they almost didn't let us on," Linus cut in, "But they figured it out in the end."

"Oh, good, can't have been fun," Robin said. "But I'm sorry to intrude, we're going to let you get back to browsing that menu, I know it will take me a while to pick what I want too…"

"Yes it always takes you an immensely long time to decide you want chicken," Slade drawled. "Nice to meet you, enjoy your evening."

Back at their table Robin quickly sent a message to the Batcave, hoping it was manned so Bruce or Alfred could look up the new information. Only minutes later, when Robin just had decided on a starter, the phone buzzed.

"Cleared. It was the name mix up that made it impossible for the system to find them."

"One more couple off the list, then," Slade stated. "Not much else for us to do now than to enjoy the dinner."

And so they did. French food wasn't on the top ten list of cuisines that Robin liked, but he had to admit that it all was delicious.

"As long as they don't include snails or brains, it's edible," he let Slade know.

"I can't take you anywhere," the man snorted and shook his head. Robin just grinned back at him and quickly poked out his tongue.

After dinner they took the elevator up to the next deck, the so-called promenade deck. Here other restaurants were located, as well as the grand casino, a night club and a movie theater. There was a lot of activity but no sight of their top, and right now only, suspects. Robin kept feeding the bat computer video of everyone he saw around him, but he was losing hope.

"How are we ever going to find them?" he asked Slade, quite loudly as the noise around them at this point was deafening.

"Who are you trying to find?" Robin spun around to see the CIA agents standing close behind them. Now that he knew they were agents he was surprised he hadn't spotted it earlier… it was something about those stiff shoulders…

"Just a couple we were talking to over dinner. They would be here later, they said. Do you know the Srömbergs?"

"No, afraid we don't," Derek, the dark haired one smiled. "We were going to try out the casino, would you like to come?"

"Robin has a bit of a gambling problem… well, it's more that he gets very eager," Slade told them and the teen tried to look properly ashamed.

"Well, a drink then?" Tim, the blond one, suggested. "What did you end up doing today, we didn't see you?"

"Oh, yeah… stomach problem, we didn't stay ashore long," the teen admitted. "But sure, a drink sounds nice!" he could tell Slade wasn't happy, they needed to move on and couldn't be stuck with a couple that they had firstly already scratched off the list of people of interest and secondly were people that might look into their own identities. Bruce had been thorough and created a fake digital trail for them, from birth to marriage certificates as well as address. It was enough for at least an initial search and unless the CIA really took an interest, they would be fine. Still, they kept to well-rehearsed facts for the next hour before excusing themselves.

They spent as little time as they dared with the other men and then excused themselves. They took a stroll, or 'promenading' as Slade insisted it used to be called, hence the name of the deck, all around deck, feeling the wind against their faces and smell of the sea, but after that they headed back to their quarters, where Robin checked in with Bruce one last time before bed, putting him on speaker phone. They had been walking with their arms around each other and Slade hadn't stepped away until Robin had dialed the number. That made the teen's stomach all warm and weird. Maybe the food wasn't agreeing with him.

"It's not pointless, Robin," Bruce told him after the teen had complained. "The computer has almost everyone in its system now, when you were filming tonight it instantly dismissed all the people that has been cleared and focused on those that hasn't."

"You might want to program it to search for spelling errors," Slade drawled from over the other side of the room.

"Yes, that was a mistake," the hero actually admitted, although grudgingly. "We're working on it."

"How many couples are left of those one hundred main suspects?" Robin asked.

"About fifty, you are doing a good job!" the man assured them.

"If you say so," Robin sighed. "Long day at sea tomorrow, so we should be able to track down most of the couples and get them on film at least…" he said.

"Good, well, we'll see you then, I guess," Robin said.

"I'll send you the results of what the computer has come up with tomorrow morning," Bruce promised. "Right now, it's focused on those couples, hoping to find good facial shots of them so we can confirm more of their identities. It's monitoring the hallways where their cabins are located too."

"It would be great if that list was down to like one tomorrow," Robin grinned. "Night!"

"Night," his mentor said and hung up.

Robin made sure to charge his phone and then went to the bathroom. He changed and brushed his teeth while he was in there but then there was no stalling anymore; he had to face Slade. And he wasn't sure how to act. Slade, however, beat him to it.

"About what happened this afternoon," the man said as soon as Robin opened the bathroom door. "You can't tell anyone."

"I… Ok?" Robin said. He hadn't expected the man to want to keep that quiet, quite the opposite. "Not that I was going to put in an ad, but why is it so important that no one finds out that we had sex?"

"Sex?" Slade blinked. "Shout that from the rooftops if you wish. Print T-shirts. Make one in my size. No, not the sex. It's very, very important, Robin, that no one finds out that Deathstroke the Terminator took a _nap_."

Robin stared at him before bursting out laughing. He was sure, well, almost sure, that the man was joking.

"Your secret is safe with me, and if you ever want to nap again, let me know," he said when he finally could talk again.

"I feel so safe now," the man smirked at him. Then he came up to the teen, who was wiping tears out of his eyes, and kissed him. "We're good?"

"Bruce said we were," Robin teased the man. "Yes. Yes, we're good."

The man nodded, looking pleased.

Robin yawned. "Well, it's not even midnight yet and I had a nap and I'm still tired already… I hope you can keep my secret as well?"

"I'm texting Beast Boy right now," the man deadpanned.

"Bastard."

"Yes, well…" the man shrugged like that was nothing he had any control over.

"And to think I let a man like you take my virginity…" Robin sighed in an overly dramatic way. Slade was busy undressing as he was still in formal wear, and just chuckled. Then he froze like he had suddenly gotten stuck in his jacket.

"That was a joke, right?"

"Yes, yes," Robin said, laughing, and the man relaxed and continued taking off his clothes. "You didn't 'take' anything," Robin continued, "it was mine to give, even though it's a bit old fashioned to cling to first times being special."

Slade, who was carefully stepping out of his trousers, had to grab onto a counter so he wouldn't trip.

"You _are_ joking?" he asked again, almost desperately.

"Wait… I think you lost me, what are we talking about?" Robin blinked. He had plopped down on the bed my now, sitting up against the headboard and was busy getting under the cool, and hopefully not too stained, sheets.

Slade didn't answer immediately, he finished undressing and put on pajama pants. Robin made a point of not looking away. It was practically his anyway, wasn't it? At least for six more days.

"You're... a virgin?"

"Um… no?" Robin said. "I don't know if you remember, a few hours ago…?"

Slade sighed and sat down on the bed. "You know what I meant. Were you?"

"Um… yes? I mean… you… didn't know?"

"Of course I didn't know, how could I have known?" Slade exclaimed and then frowned. "Why are you looking so damn happy?"

"Because I must have been really good, then!" Robin grinned, making the man chuckle but then shake his head.

"I didn't know," he said. "I'm sorry."

"But why? I don't get what the big deal is?" Robin nearly pleaded.

"I thought you'd… been around. No, not like that!" Slade quickly amended as he saw the teen about to explode. "You are fifty percent superhero and fifty percent billionaire… Let's just say you should have been laid a _lot_ by now."

"I need to change my Tinder tag-line into that!" Robin joked. "It just hasn't happened… it's like… life hasn't slowed down enough," he shrugged. "I've been too busy. Which is mostly your fault, actually, so I'm glad you finally took some responsibility for that." Robin could see the corners of the man's mouth twitch and turned more towards him, reached out and stroked the man's arm. "But is it such a bad thing?"

"Because, for some people, first times are important…" the man started.

"They are, I guess… I mean, good or bad, it's something you will always remember. Hopefully."

"It would just have been easier if it hadn't been important in this case. If I had just been one in a line- "

"Hello, here we go with the whole 'Robin is a slut'-thing again!" the teen objected. "Sure, people shouldn't be judged based on how many they sleep with, but that's just not me! I want something a bit _more_ , and- oh. Oh, I see the problem," the teen suddenly said. Then he took a deep breath. "I know we're not married for real. I know this is a job. And this thing, between us, it's a fling. At best. It's fun. Felt damn good. Hope to learn some more, but that's it. You don't have to worry you're going to break my heart or something. If Deathstroke the Terminator worries about such things."

"He does not," Slade said, looking over the top offended, making it obvious he was joking. "But good. Good. Then we both know where we stand."

"Or lie," Robin grinned. "Or sit, perhaps?"

"We're going to explore all options," the man smirked. "Don't you think I'll forget that you wanted to 'learn'."

"Oh-oh, I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Robin said, looking worried.

"As always," the man leered and pounced.

* * *

"I'm too tired to sleep," Robin complained half an hour later.

"I could fuck you again, see if that helps?" Slade, ever the helpful one, offered.

"I couldn't get hard if my life depended on it," the teen muttered.

" _You_ don't have to be."

"Monster."

"Aw, thank you," the man kissed his ear. "I wonder… if me being here was the Bat's plan all along, I wonder how much he'd be regretting that if he knew about this…" the man said, somewhat smugly.

"I hope you didn't sleep with me just to settle some kind of score with Bruce?" Robin snorted.

"Of course not. Not only, anyway. About ten percent, though…"

"Well, I can live with ten percent. The 'I'm fucking you because you're a villain and I'm a naughty boy' percent is probably around ten in my case," Robin admitted. "Besides, who is to say he didn't predict this? And more? If he thinks I need you to protect me on this mission then who's to say he doesn't think a life long live-in free bodyguard isn't a splendid idea?"

"He wouldn't?" Slade sounded a bit worried.

"Shotgun wedding, Slade. Shotgun wedding," Robin snickered and rolled over, sleep finally within grasp.

 _To be Continued..._

A/N: hope the perverts are happy. 😉 Next chapter Robin gets in trouble, poor thing.


	5. Chapter 5: Let it Flow

A/N: Robin get in a bit of trouble, and then Slade gets in a bit of trouble and… well, it's a normal day, really… 😉

 **Chapter 5: Let it Flow**

Robin woke up at just before four in the morning and was wide awake. He had slept very well indeed and with the nap yesterday gotten more rest than he was used to. There was no way he was going to fall back to sleep and his whole body itched to move. He worked himself out from under Slade's arm. The man of course woke up but, funnily enough, just grunted something, rolled over, and fell back asleep. Robin stifled a laugh. Seemed the Great Deathstroke might need his naps after all.

Bringing only his key card, he slipped on the same shorts and shirt he had worn yesterday. He preferred changing after showering, and he doubted many people would be around to see his crumpled clothes anyway.

He followed the corridor and then went outside to the pool area. The air was a chilly and he shivered slightly, but the sun was slowly brightening the horizon, beautiful hues of gold and purple starting to appear. Robin admired it for a bit. He loved sunrises. After all, it meant you had survived another night.

The ship cut perfectly through the calm sea, it's engines not exactly creating a sound, not this high up at least, but there was always… something… a hum? A vibration? At least he had noticed the difference between before and after leaving the island yesterday.

Suddenly there was a movement on the other side of the deck. Robin used all his bat-skills and practically melted back into the shadows, to watch. It was probably a staff member, perhaps cleaning crew, or maybe a passenger who had been partying too long, but there was something about how the shadow had moved that had alerted the teen.

There it was again. It was definitely trying to stay out of sight as it was closing in on one of the doors that led into the interior of the ship, where, as far as Robin knew, there were only cabins. The teen had come from the door on this side of the ship, and the shadow now slipped into the one on the opposite side.

It didn't take long for the teen to decide to act, he was already moving. He slipped through the same door, but didn't see anyone down the hall. The corridor on this deck ran in a large U-shape at the very front of the ship, so the man or woman must have been quick. Robin hurried quietly down the hall. He had just realized that there was no way the shadow could have made it this far down when there was the faintest of sounds behind him. He was about to spin around when something hit him in the head and everything turned black.

He wasn't out long but when he came to, he was still not able to move. One set of hands was grabbing him, stroking his whole body, and the thought 'rape!' appeared in the teen's mind before he understood that the hands were patting him down. He decided to 'play dead' just for a bit longer, more so because the darkness was still washing over him, trying to drag him under again. He felt one of his pockets turn inside out and heard the crinkle of paper but then the darkness won again.

"Robin!" it was a mix between a call and a hiss and the teen groaned.

"Owww…" he mumbled.

"What happened?" It was Slade's voice, and the man sounded both concerned and furious.

"… jumped…" the teen muttered. "…head's…. killing me… help?"

But Slade felt his neck and spine carefully first before moving him. When he finally, gingerly, lifted the teen up Robin was close to throwing up on him.

Soon after they were back in their cabin and the man laid him down onto the bed. The teen grinned weakly at the realization that this was the first time Slade hadn't thrown him onto it. He got a cold, damp towel for the back of his head, but then the man was impatient to hear what had happened. Robin explained and then asked.

"What time is it?"

"Only just after half past four. You can't have been lying there long."

"How did you even find me?"

"I thought you were just going to the bathroom. When you didn't return, I noticed that you'd left. I decided to check up on you."

"Worried?" Robin smiled.

"I obviously had cause to! It was lucky I decided to check the other corridor first."

"Why did you?"

"I don't know… instinct? Maybe I actually heard you, just not consciously. You were whimpering." Slade said that in a tone that indicated that it was the hero's fault. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine in an hour or so. Where they robbers, do you think?"

"If so, they were stupid, desperate or both. What did they take from your pocket?"

"I have no idea. I didn't have my phone or my wallet, after all… sounded like paper but it wasn't money- Oh! Ow." Robin amended as him almost sitting up as he got the idea had hurt.

"What?" the man wanted to know.

"It was a note. The paper note with the German's cabin number… or, well... the badly scribbled one."

"And they took it?"

"Don't know, did you see it on the floor?"

"No, not as far as I can remember. I'm taking a look through the hallway; will you be alright for a while?"

Ninety nine percent of Robin just snorted and said he would be fine. One percent secretly wanted to clutch Slade's hand and beg him to stay.

The man returned not long after.

"I checked the whole hallway as well as the trashcans to see if your attacker threw the note away. He or she didn't."

"He. I'm pretty sure."

"Yes. At least someone tall with a good arm and skills. You weren't hit with anything laying around, you were hit with something designed for that purpose, I'd bet. The guy knew what he was doing."

"But why?"

"Wrong time, wrong place? Or he knew you were following him?"

"What the hell do we do now? Whoever hit me probably got a good look at me, he will be watching us now… and if we don't call security it will be suspicious, won't it?"

"Dammit…" Slade said. "Yes, it will. Normal passengers would have cried for blood by now. I'm making the call."

Robin nodded but then held up his hand. "No! Stupid!"

"I don't think you get to call me that," Slade snorted.

"But you are! We are!" Robin said and then groaned, holding his head. "Just give me a sec." he waited a bit until the throbbing in his head died down a smidge. "Okay, so we call security, what do they do? They check the surveillance tapes."

"I assume so… ah, of course, we need to check the tapes! You're right, we're stupid," the man grunted, looking ashamed of himself.

"Not just that, but good point," the teen smiled weakly. "But if they check the tapes and it turns out to be someone on our suspect list or the CIA… that will things very complicated for us, won't it? The CIA would have to come clean with who they are and the suspects, well… there's no telling what they might do… it might turn into a blood bath!"

"Alright. Again, you're right. It's late, or rather, early, but I'll see if Bruce is available. It's easier for him to check the surveillance and, as we're practically working for him, he gets to decide what to do."

"It's nice to have a boss, isn't it?"

"Shut up and heal."

"You actually have _two_ bosses…" Robin grinned.

"No, two customers," the man said and smirked. "Bruce? Looking tired?" he said to the screen, having used the video call.

"I was just about to go to bed," the man yawned. "What happened?"

"Your boy was knocked out."

"Just wait until he gets kidnapped," Bruce muttered.

"Hey!" Robin objected.

"Well, I hear he's conscious, at least. Is it serious?"

Slade explained the situation and Bruce started going through the video feed.

"This is strange…" he said after a bit. "I've fast forwarded through the feeds in that hallway but there is nothing to see… Nor is there anything from the pool area or any record of Robin leaving the room."

"Dammit, they have hacked the video feed as well," Slade growled.

"Can you like… unhack it…?" Robin asked.

"Robin, if the cameras aren't recording there's no recording to be found," Bruce told him, almost kindly.

"Sorry… sorry… hit in the head…" the teen muttered.

"Did you drink last night?" Batman wanted to know.

"I'm not drunk!" he objected.

"No, but did you? Is there any alcohol still in your blood you think? Did anyone see you drink?"

"We had a few drinks with the CIA," Slade admitted. "They were lonely or something."

"Probably checking you out, be careful. People in that business might have access to your profile and a fake eye and some lovey-doveyness might not be enough to fool them," Bruce said seriously. "But good, Robin, drink just a little bit extra, enough to smell. Call the doctors. You hit your head, but you can't remember how. Play it down so security doesn't get involved, that will just create a huge mess. Alright?"

"Sounds good, boss!" Robin grinned, and glanced at a Slade who looked like he wanted to pout.

Not long after the ship's physician was called and, after checking the teen over and having him do lots of vision and eye-hand-coordination tests left the boy with orders to rest, have a headache pill and to call for him if he experienced anything worse than a throbbing headache. He asked a few questions about how much he had had to drink and urged him to be more careful in the future.

They didn't go down to breakfast until almost nine, and Robin, wearing sunglasses, decided to act worse than he actually felt, just to see if they got any reactions and practically hung off Slade's arm. Slade in turn doted on him until Robin whispered that he couldn't keep a straight face for much longer and the man toned it down a bit.

People did notice that Robin wasn't feeling well, though and they got all kinds of reactions, from jokes about late nights to a few actual questions from people they knew a bit better. They ran into the Swedes and the Germans at almost the same time.

"I must have slipped," Robin told them. "Slade found me in the hallway, but it was the one furthest from us, so I think I slipped, hit my head and then passed out after a while… can't even remember leaving the cabin…"

"Very scary!" One of the Swede's exclaimed. "You could have fallen in the pool and drowned!"

At that point they got a full score as the CIA joined them as well. "You didn't have that much to drink last night, did you?" the teen was asked.

They told the story again, and got similar, concerned reactions. Robin tried to watch everyone closely, but no one gave any indication that they knew more than they pretended.

"Well, I'm gonna be fine," Robin shrugged in the end. "So what are all of you up to today?"

The big group chatted about different ideas, like gambling, shopping, relaxing by the pool, watching a movie in the cinema later in the evening, going to the gym and so on and so forth.

"We spent a lot of time by the pool yesterday," Robin said. "When I feel a bit more up for it, I think I want to explore the ship some more… meet some more people…. Not that present company isn't great, of course!" he added with a laugh.

"Well, you're not going to do any more drinking, at least, that's for sure," Slade told him dryly.

"You don't love me," Robin muttered.

"Not true. I love you very much," the man said which such warmth in his voice that it brought unwanted tears to the teen's eyes.

"Don't make me cry! Kiss me instead!" he objected, and got his wish.

"I wanted a sugar free breakfast," Derek from the CIA team drawled.

"We were never that disgustingly sweet, where we?" Victor on 'team German' asked his partner, who just chuckled.

The Swedish newlyweds just grinned and kissed as well, adding to the sweetness level.

Slade and Robin had a job to do, though, and they slowly started to go through the list of couples they had to try to find and identify. It was more difficult than Robin had hoped, they both knocked on a few doors, they had some captured pictures with no names to that that the computer had sent back to search for, but it was slow going.

"Lunch!" Robin exclaimed after hours of searching. "We found like…ten?"

"Six."

"We can't round up?"

"Don't think Bruce would allow that, no."

"Dammit. Oh well. Still: lunch."

"Well, we might meet people there. What do you want?"

"All work and no play makes Slade a dull boy," Robin snorted.

"Ah, so you want to stay in and order room service?" the man leered.

"Yes, but your work ethics will get in the way of that, so let's just go to the Italian place."

"Dammit," it was Slade's turn to say.

Robin's phone rang on the way there. The teen listened but said very little. When the call was over, he pulled Slade to the side for a 'make out session' while he relayed the information to him.

"Bruce has come up with a new thing to help us out. As soon as the computer 'sees' a face it doesn't recognize from our live feeds, it will send a message to us, only one per face, so we should make sure to have a signal on. Vibration will screw with the video feed."

"Sounds good," the man said, and they set up their phones. "Why didn't he think of this before?"

"He did, but at that point there were too many question marks, we would get constant messages. This can help us relax and just move through the ship, though. After lunch."

"You're hungry today."

"You have no idea," the teen leered, making the man look rather wistful.

At lunch the phone dinged once and Robin had to go be social for a bit again. He found it easy, which Slade tended to look like he was calculating how hard people he met would be to kill. The man always acted better if he had his hand on the teen's ass, though, a place it seldom left anyway. Robin was surprised, but secretly very pleased, about how loving and tender the man could act. It was extra tantalizing now when the flirting and innuendoes actually could end up coming true… but that also made things more confusing. Robin knew there were no feelings involved from the man's side, but it was hard to tell where the acting ended and the desire began, so to speak. But maybe, he considered, it didn't matter so much, because it was more important that he, Robin, knew where the limits were, and he had no problem with that.

"Lost in thought?"

"Huh?"

"You were smiling at me with a slightly emptier expression in your eyes than usual," the man smirked.

"Oh. Sorry. Just… planning."

"Mm-hmm? Seemed like you were planning something I really want to be a part of," the man smirked.

"Yes, that wedding," Robin smiled back sweetly.

"And to change the subject," Slade hurriedly said, looking around, "maybe splitting up and browsing the decks is a good idea?"

"There's a wedding chapel on the boat, you know?" Robin smiled wider. "Just… random piece on information… like that thing about the morgue."

"Let's discuss where we would prefer to be later," the man muttered. "You take this deck and move up, I'll move down. Alright?"

"Yes, dear," Robin grinned. "You are fun to torture, you know?"

The man gave him an evil grin. "I'm sure you are too, and I'll get you all to myself tonight."

Robin's grin wavered nervously. "Heh… funny man," he said uncertainly.

"Not joking," Slade claimed and left.

Robin took a breath, composed himself, and got to work.

He didn't get far, however, before his phone rang.

"What did he mean by that?" Bruce asked.

"By what?" Robin couldn't put two and two together.

"By 'I'll get you all to myself tonight'?" the man clarified.

"Oh, fuck, we forgot to turn the phones off," the teen groaned.

"Robin. Talk to me. Now."

"He was joking!" the younger hero clamed.

"Really?" Bruce's voice dripped of doubt.

"Yes. Everything is fine."

"You have to call me if anything makes you uncomfortable," the man insisted, and Robin was close to making another girth joke.

"Yes, sure, I'm a big boy, though, I can take care of myself. I can make decisions for myself too."

"Usually poor ones."

"It's your fault he's even here!" Robin hissed.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Okay. Good. Thank you. I need to go now."

"And why that talk about weddings?"

"Really gotta go, see you!" Robin said and hung up.

The new tech was incredibly good. Robin tried to move furtively around so it didn't look like he was walking up to everyone he saw, and it was slow going but effective.

"Hi, have you been abandoned?"

The teen turned around to see Victor on 'Team German' standing there. As one of the top suspects the hero would normally treasure some time to speak with him, especially as he made the first move, but now he felt slightly frustrated instead, as he had a lot of people to film.

"Hi, yeah, looks like it, doesn't it?" he grinned without giving any more information.

"Are you okay, though? Your head?"

"Yeah, I mean… I'm glad we are out to sea all day so I can just go back to the cabin and rest, but I'll be fine."

"You slipped, you said?"

"I just assume so… I still can't remember," the teen explained. "That's the really scary part, actually, but the doctor said it wasn't that uncommon. Where is Carl, by the way?"

"Buying more sun screen. He fries quickly, poor guy," the man chuckled. "We'll probably be boring and hang out at the pool later, come join us if you feel lonely."

"I will!" Robin smiled, liking the invitation. "I'm gonna explore for a bit, maybe hunt down that husband of mine. Good thing we have phones or we'd never be able to find each other, this ship is huge!" the teen grinned.

"That it is. Have a good time!" the 'German' said and raised his hand in a farewell before walking away.

Robin continued browsing the deck and had several hits. It was stimulating, a little bit like actual hunting, and he moved through the decks with a sense of excitement pushing him on. Three hours later he had done a thorough first sweep. The people were moving around, of course, so his work wasn't exactly _done_ , but he decided a break was in order, He sent Slade a message, and headed to their cabin to change into swimwear. On the way there, however, in a small, dark inner corridor he passed on the way to the elevators, he heard a groan. Around the corner, in a short hallway that just lead to cleaning supply closets and the like, a man was on his knees.

"Shit, are you ok?" Robin called out and rushed forward. At the last second, he remembered that it might be a possible poison attack and stopped a little bit away. The man staggered to his feet, a red mark covering his jaw and cheek.

"Carl?!" Robin exclaimed when he saw who it was. "What happened?"

"Nothing… got in a fight," the man muttered, and somehow the teen thought his accent was heavier now.

"Ok, I'm calling security!" Robin said just to see how the man would react. He wasn't disappointed. The man's hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"No! Don't… I- look, I might get in trouble myself, ok? It was just a stupid disagreement, it wasn't serious."

"Was… was it… Victor?" Robin asked.

When the man's younger companion was mentioned the man actually chuckled. "No. Nothing domestic."

"But who was it, then? Can't you warn me? I don't want to hang out with psychos..."

the man gave him a strange look and laughed shortly. "You don't, huh? No, I don't want to say, sorry, I don't want any rumors, hope you understand."

"But I wouldn't- the teen began and then sighed. "Ok, yeah… but are you alright? I was heading down to our cabin, let's go back together?"

The man agreed and Robin offered his arm as support. The 'German' waved that away though, and joined the teen in the elevator, rubbing his jaw.

"And I was afraid it was going to be a bit boring on a ship," the young hero grinned and rubbed his own head. The throbbing had died down and he was now mainly just sore.

"Oh, it seldom is," the man smirked at him.

The hero studied the suspect furtively for the rest of the way down. Carl had that rounder, softish face that didn't look threatening at all, but his eyes and voice sometimes became harder. Robin didn't think he was quite as harmless as he looked, but he had no proof of anything, of course.

"I could come to your cabin if you want to… help patch you up?" Robin offered, desperate to see the place again, and if he could get the man to lie down with a cold cloth over his face, then maybe, just maybe, he could find something.

"What exactly are you offering?" the man leered and Robin's face exploded in red hues.

"I… I… no, I… I'm married!" the teen objected. "I just wanted to help!"

"Some people treat these trips as a swinger's party," the man shrugged. "You never know. Doesn't hurt to ask."

"I'm just going to assume you don't need any help, then," the teen muttered just as the elevator doors open. "I'll see you later," he said and fled.

"Idiot," Slade commented when Robin told him of the embarrassing elevator misunderstanding.

"What?" the teen blinked. "I mean, if people really sleep around, it wasn't strange that he misunderstood-"

"I meant you. You should have gone back with him and sent him into the shower while you looked around."

"And when he came out?" Robin growled.

"Fuck him and then ask to borrow the bathroom and search it while you were in there."

"We are supposed to be on honeymoon! A loving couple!" Robin objected.

"We are supposed to do our job."

"Sleeping with strangers is _not_ my job!"

"Oh, just a hobby then?" the man smirked.

Robin closed his fist, longing to plant it smack in the middle of the man's stupid smirk. Instead he took a deep breath, turned around, grabbed his swim gear and disappeared into the bathroom to change. He did so quickly and left the cabin without so much as looking at the man and headed to the pool. It was much more crowded than yesterday, of course, but he found a lounge chair, threw his stuff onto it and then dove into the water. The pool wasn't big but had a jet stream on one side, and Robin swum furiously against it until he felt that he had calmed down enough not to kill a certain mercenary. He left the water and only then remembered the sun block. He hadn't been in the water that long so figured that no harm was done as he applied it.

"Need help?" the offer came from one of the Swedes, who, the teen only now discovered, had occupied the sun beds next to his.

"If you wouldn't mind helping me with my back?" the teen asked, glancing at the other swede as well, making sure it was alright with him. The other man just smiled and nodded, though, and soon his back was being expertly covered. The man's touch felt a little strange, but it was all completely professional, no lingering touches, no Slade-like molesting moves. "Thank you," Robin smiled as it was done. He continued with his own legs and chest, having already done his arms.

"You are late to the pool," one of the Swedes said. "The sun is about to start setting soon."

"I spent time here yesterday," Robin shrugged. "I've been mostly exploring the ship today."

"You looked like a…. a dark cloud when you arrived?" the other blond said, hesitating a bit over the choice of words.

"Slade was an asshole."

Robin almost laughed as he saw two pair of warm blue eyes suddenly look concerned.

"Were you argumenti- arguing?"

"A bit."

"You should go talk to him. Maybe it was a misunderstanding?"

"I will. Later," Robin said, not looking forwards to seeing the man again. "It was nothing, really."

"If you say so…" the words showed reluctance to let the subject go, but Robin put on his sunglasses and laid down, clearly showing that he was done talking. He kept watching people around him, though. His phone's camera was turned off now, but he could still study people. He saw several well-known faces, the Stefans, for example, seemed to have made up and were playing the married couple again. The CIA were by the bar and soon the Germans arrived as well. Robin felt annoyance well up in him again as he had wanted to discuss that case in depth with Slade, but the bastard had ruined that. And speaking of the devil…

Robin had never really had the opportunity to watch Slade, as a civilian that was, from afar, and especially not the reactions the man got from the people around him. Now he came swaggering towards the pool, dressed in swim shorts and with a towel over one shoulder. As Robin watched behind black lenses, he saw many eyes turn towards him, eyes that were roaming over his body and didn't have a single pure thought attached to them. The teen snorted. No wonder the man was so full of himself.

On his way over, Slade took a detour to the bar, drawing more looks, and then walked up to Robin, holding out a drink.

"Forgive me?" he said.

"That you better fucking _really_ mean," Robin growled, intonation making it clear to the man that it shouldn't be an act.

"I do," Slade claimed and Robin took the drink, a bit grudgingly.

"Can we go back to our cabin and talk?" the man asked, _almost_ humbly.

"Are you allowed to have whores in the room?" the teen growled, and there were a few gasps around him. People were listening. More people than he even suspected. Damn drama-loving leeches.

"What I said… it was supposed to be a joke of sorts… on my behalf," Slade tried. "Please, you know I love you! I would never actually mean what I said!"

Robin smirked. Loving watching the man crawl in the dirt, even though it was just an act. Then he sighed.

"Fine… fine, I'm sorry too… my headache… I've had a short temper all day."

Slade helped him up, but Robin intentionally moved away when he sensed that Slade was about to pull him in for a kiss. He was nowhere close to that good of an actor. Instead he gathered up his things and walked ahead of the man, trying to tell himself to handle this professionally.

As they entered their cabin, Robin put his things away quietly and then turned to the man who had sat down on the small couch.

"Was any part of that apology sincere?"

"Somewhat," the man shrugged. "I should have known you had limits to what you would do."

"Um. Yes. Like, you know, kill someone, have sex with random people I'm not attracted to…"

"So, if it had been Victor instead? He's more attractive, isn't he?" Slade asked.

"Yes, but no. I chose to have sex with you because I thought it would be an interesting experience. I have no interest in doing it with just anybody! I'm not like _you_."

"It might have helped our mission along."

"Yes, then you go. Would you do it if he insisted on topping, though?" Robin smirked evilly. "For the mission?" he added sarcastically.

The man snorted but didn't answer and the teen felt like he had won an important point.

"I called Bruce, no records of anyone in that hallway at that time," Slade said instead.

"So cameras manipulated again," Robin sighed. "Can we remove their program somehow?"

"Possibly, but it's risky. The Bat was going to look into it."

"Good. Carl definitely knows who did it. He was hit from the front and he had a cut on his neck-"

"You didn't mention that before."

"You interrupted me by being an asshole."

"Oh, well…" the man shrugged again. "So… cut?"

"Just a nick, but I know that look. Someone held a knife to his throat. I think he was confronted and warned about something."

"Well, we are not believing the random fight explanation, but I wonder who threatened him…"

"I guess killing someone would lead to too much trouble," Robin said. "Not a risk worth taking unless it's the actual mission or very, very important. Which is good, because I could have woken up dead. But if it was the CIA, why not arrest them?"

"Might not have been them at all. We have two parties here, the CIA, who we have identified, and the agents, who we aren't sure that we've even seen yet…. There might be more parties here, though. We don't know if the CIA is after our people or someone else."

"It would be nice to find a mission statement from them clarifying that," Robin muttered.

"Again, Bruce has tried. Found nothing. Whatever this is, it's not a run-of-the mill mission, it's probably need-to-know."

Robin sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Okay… Okay… it's only day two, the list must be shorter after today's hunt, no need to panic yet."

"Who's panicking?" Slade asked dryly.

"Me. A little. We need to find these people, Slade, and we need proof. It's just that the proof is one of the most dangerous poisons in the world. Makes me a bit nervous."

"Awww… come here, I'll make you forget your worries," the man grinned and patted his own lap.

"No thank you, I'm not that into you anymore. It will be difficult enough to act like I've forgiven you out there," he said and gestured to the door. "I'm gonna rinse the pool water off and then I'm going to take another stroll hunting 'unknowns' before dinner."

"I think you're being unreasonable," the man growled.

"Because I don't want your cock inside me anymore?" the teen said sweetly.

"I obviously hurt your feelings-"

"Yes!" Robin heard himself yell all of a sudden. "Yes, you fucking did! And I hate it because I didn't want to have any, ok? It was supposed to be just sex, like it is for you! You have nothing to lose here, because you don't give a shit about me outside of work and that you like fucking me! You wouldn't even bat an _eye_ if I slept with someone else, and you'd fuck anyone too, no problem! I would _love_ to be that cold, Slade, but I'm obviously not! I don't want to sleep with anyone else and I don't like the thought of you doing that either! So I guess you fucking won or something, you're gonna strut around looking so fucking smug because a little stupid hero wants-" here Robin finally managed to stop himself, though he couldn't stop the tears running down his cheeks. Tears of anger, frustration and shame.

"Wants what?" Slade asked calmly. He had stood up during Robin's rant, but not come any closer.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Robin yelled and fled into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it. He took a shower, a longer one than he had planned, and dried off carefully. He had of course forgotten to bring any clothes with him, which he cursed about as he wrapped a towel around himself. After taking a deep breath he opened the door. He had almost plotted out the route to the wardrobe in his mind, including where the clothes he wanted were and every step to get him out the door as quickly as possible. It wasn't needed, though, because Slade wasn't there. His swim trunks had been thrown on the bed but, other than that, there was no trace of him. Apart from a note. It was a white post it with the ship's logo on the wardrobe door.

"I went ahead, will go through upper levels this time. We need to talk. /S"

Robin took the note and tore it up, telling himself he was destroying evidence. He didn't want to "talk", no matter how much the man was correct in his claim that they had to. Well, he could postpone it for a while longer, at least.

He dressed, activated his phone's camera, put it in his breast pocket and left. He went down as far as he as a passenger could go, deck four. The only area there where passengers had access was the medical center and there were no one else there at the moment, so Robin travelled up again to deck five. Here it was more active, a fine arts gallery, a library, cafés… still not a lot of people, as most of them probably wanted to enjoy the fresh air. The dining rooms on deck six had just opened for the early birds, and there were a few that apparently felt hungry. Robin managed to get one 'hit' here, and introduced himself to an elderly person who had had so many facelifts that Robin wasn't quite sure where to look. He was pretty sure he, or she, wasn't their suspect, though.

Deck seven was the promenade deck and there was a lot to explore here but the eight deck through fourteen were only living quarters and Robin almost got lost in long, slightly spooky, hallways, where he didn't meet anyone of interest. Deck fourteen had a small terrace pool and people had gathered there, but the phone kept quiet…

 _To be Continued…_

A/N: is Robin overreacting or is Slade an idiot? Or both? Neither? Which team are we on here?

Next chapter makes me very nervous, because they arrive at St Thomas, and, as it turns out, one of you actually LIVES there… I'm very nervous about fucking that up completely… I've watched you-tube videos and read wiki-pages and such for research but never, of course, been there myself, so… yeah… I hope there's not TOO many misunderstandings (the tourist videos were not always saying the same thing)… Breathe… breathe… 😉


	6. Chapter 6: It Floats Back to You

A/N: Here we go… welcome to tourist fan fiction… 😉

 **Chapter 6: It Floats Back to You**

He was making his way back to the elevators when he ran into Slade. Robin almost wanted to turn the corner and pretend he hadn't seen him, but that was childish, so he just stopped, warily. He then turned off his phone and the man did the same.

"Talk?" Slade suggested.

Robin nodded.

"Not here. Let's go back to our cabin," the man said, and they did, without uttering a word to each other. Very uncomfortable. Robin's brain was running hot, however, trying to think of things to say to cover up for his previous faux pas. He couldn't say he was drunk, could he? He hadn't found a single viable excuse and then it was suddenly too late: they were in the cabin.

Robin walked as far into the room as he could get, looked at the sofa but decided to remain standing, arms around himself as he didn't quite know what to do with his hands.

The silence stretched on and the teen felt almost a physical pain from it.

"I apologize." It was Slade speaking first and the teens eyes darted towards the man, widening in surprise.

"You do?" he asked. "Why?"

"It was unprofessional of me to be physical with you outside of acting in front of people," the man admitted. "I was weak." The mercenary made a small face of disgust, clearly aimed at himself.

"Well, I was… I was curious. I wanted it too."

"Would have been rape otherwise," the man joked lamely.

Robin sighed and then finally sank down on the sofa, where he put his head in his hands.

"We talked about feelings before it happened, I assured you there were none involved," he said. "But then you… like… treated me nicely…"

"Alright… sorry?" Slade said, clearly wondering what the hell the teen was on about.

"It wasn't just sex and then back to business, it was… you know… kisses, and caresses… and you saying you wished it was real, and… and… I started wanting that too… I know we are just "playing house", but when you just shattered the illusion by telling me I should have slept with someone else, it… it…"

"I think I was intentionally trying to push you away," Slade told him and sat down next to him. "I know I can't keep you, so subconsciously I was probably trying to get you to hate me again."

"As you had already gotten what you wanted?" Robin asked dryly.

"As I realized that I wanted so much more," the man explained. "And as I can't have it…"

"I know what you mean. I'm too young and too inexperienced to be this fucked up," Robin groaned.

"Well, you have to start somewhere," the man chuckled dryly.

"Thanks for the crash course," Robin muttered sarcastically. "So, what do we do now? Forget all this ever happened and be professional?"

"If that's what you want. I could make up this pull out couch and sleep here," Slade offered.

"Wait… this pulls out? We never had to share a bed?!" the teen exclaimed.

"I was sure you knew," the mercenary defended himself, but sounded way too innocent.

"Suuuure you did," Robin drawled, seeing straight through him.

"I have my own special strategies," Slade admitted, stretched and let his arm fall down on the backrest behind Robin in the old, classical move.

"Yes, you are so smooth. One as innocent as I am doesn't stand a chance," Robin chuckled, but took the man's hand and pulled Slade's arm closer around his shoulders. "What the hell are we going to do with each other…?" he added in a sigh.

"I have a suggestion."

"I meant long term."

"Oh."

Robin turned towards the man and buried his face against his chest, clinging to him, trying to gather the courage he needed to say what he needed to say next.

"Slade?" he mumbled.

"Yes?"

"Could you do me a big, really big, favor?"

"You're scaring me. What is it?" the man half joked, half asked seriously.

"When… when this mission is over… could you leave Jump?"

The man didn't answer and, in the end, Robin glanced up at him. Slade was looking back at him with a rather strange look.

"I… I know it's a lot to ask," the teen continued. "But I can't… I can't go back to the way it was before, so one of us has to leave and… the Titans, they… they are like a family to me. I don't want to leave them, but if you won't go…?"

"I'll go." The man's voice was somewhat empty, almost cold.

"Thank… thank you," Robin mumbled. "I'm sorry… I'm really sorry… I just… I can't fight you… you might… you might kill me-"

"Never. Of course not. I wouldn't hurt you!" Slade objected, pulling the young man tight.

"You play hard, Slade…" the teen said with a small smile. "I don't think I could match that, especially not if something was on the line… like the safety of Jump. It's better if it didn't come to that…. How could I fight someone I've… kissed?" the teen rose up and kissed the man's lips chastely. Then he grinned evilly and lowered his head, kissing the man's chest through his shirt. "How could I fight someone if I've kissed his nipple?"

"Don't let Red X hear that or he's going to take advantage," Slade chuckled.

"If it was the other way around maybe it would be worth it," Robin snorted. "Maybe I could kiss the whole world into law abiding citizens."

"Now, see, I wouldn't like that," Slade told him.

"Really now? An honest living is so abhorrent?"

"You kissing other people is that abhorrent. Just being honest."

"I like when you're honest. As long as you tell me things I want to hear," the young hero grinned.

"Let's 'play house', as you put it, again," the man suggested. "And when this case is over, we'll plan from there."

"There… could be plans?" Robin asked carefully.

"Of some sort… maybe. Like if you run me out of Jump you have to help me move."

The teen snickered. "Will there be pizza? Isn't that the traditional moving-food?"

"It's also traditional to help christen the new place by having lots and lots of sex in it," the man claimed.

"Really now? I haven't heard of that?"

"It is where I come from," Slade deadpanned.

"The Play Boy mansion?" Robin asked innocently.

"Exactly," the man smirked. "Now, it's getting late. Dinner-"

"I'm starving!" the teen suddenly realized and got to his feet.

"We should make it in time for the late sitting," Slade told him. "Unless we stay in? Order room service?"

"We should see if we could find more suspects," Robin said regretfully. "We'll be at St Thomas at ten tomorrow morning and won't leave until ten in the evening… we can't expect to find many more when the passengers are scattered over an island…"

"Unfortunately, you make sense," the mercenary sighed. "Very well, let's change and-"

Robin's phone rang. It was Bruce.

"Why did you turn off the feed?" the man asked.

"You wanted to see us change for dinner? Perverted," Slade snorted.

"Ah. No," the Dark Knight amended. "Going to dinner now, then?"

"Yes. How did we do today?" the teen asked.

"Over half the list. Very good work," Bruce answered.

"We just realized that it might not be as easy tomorrow, but we'll do the same thing as last time; go ashore early and hang around waiting for as many as possible to do the same," Robin explained.

"Good. There's no point in trying to use the recognition function on shore, and there is no use following anyone, it might just draw attention to you, so treat it as a day off… but keep your eyes open, of course."

"Yes, Sir," Robin nodded. We better go or I'll starve to death."

"Wouldn't want that," his mentor chuckled. "I'll be in touch tomorrow unless something comes up."

The dinner was nice and they managed to find two more suspects who had been hiding somewhere during the day. Robin didn't think either of them were the agents, but he would wait for the computer's result.

"I'd call that a good day's work," the young hero said as they entered their cabin. He had just turned off the live feed from the phone and Slade was doing the same. "How about a little reward"? he suggested with a grin.

"For me or for you?" Slade asked.

"Okay, here's the difference between villain mind and hero mind," Robin sighed jokingly. "For both of us, of course!"

"Then how are you supposed to know who's won?" the mercenary asked innocently.

Robin sighed, chuckled, and threw out his arms.

"Alright, you won, Slade. I'm your prize. Claim me." He laughed as the man swept him up, but when the man got on top of him on the bed, Slade stopped.

"So you're sure this is _my_ reward?" he asked. Robin could see that the man was joking and smiled innocently back.

"Of course, Sir. Only yours. I shan't enjoy it for one minute!"

Slade stifled a laugh and then leered. "Very well, then."

"I have this nagging suspicion that you lied to me," the man said half an hour later. "It seemed you _did_ enjoy yourself after all."

"I swear I didn't mean to!" Robin panted. "You're just too good!" he added, and grinned.

"You're completely disrespectful, aren't you?" Slade growled.

"Would you have me any other way?" the teen asked, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Yup," Slade told him and flipped the young man over. "From behind."

"If I'm ever angry with you again, remind me you're really good at sex," Robin sighed happily a little bit later. "I don't even know how I could come again…"

"I'm always willing to explore your limits," Slade chuckled.

"How about yours?" the teen asked haughtily.

"Darling, you're just a beginner. Pace yourself," the man laughed and patted Robin's head. The teen cracked up himself. "I would love to challenge you, but I am wise enough to know I'll regret it tomorrow."

"Well, normally I like your mind and how brilliant you are, but right now I would prefer if you were a bit more stupid," Robin was told with an almost straight face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know… maybe I'll feel a bout of idiocy in the morning," the hero grinned. "Sleep or shower?"

"I'm hoping a shower would be wasted," the man grinned and settled down. "I'm voting for sleep."

"Me too. I just need to clean up a bit, or my thighs will stick together and that would be bad news for all parts."

"It really would," Slade said, followed by a serious nod.

Robin slapped the man's ass when he got out of bed and quickly jumped out of reach, snickering.

"I'll get you for that one later," the man threatened and got up to clean off a little himself. "I am glad I won't be here when they change the sheets tomorrow." He added thoughtfully when he saw the state of the bed. "Actually…"

Robin heard him rummaging and when the teen came out the man had used the sheets that were meant for the fold up couch and put the others on the floor.

"A bit too small, but they will do for the night," the mercenary stated.

"You are such a home maker," Robin grinned at him.

"Watch it or you'll sleep on the floor with the dirty sheets," the man snorted and disappeared into the bathroom.

Robin, not feeling threatened in the least, snickered again and got into the bed. When Slade joined him, the man pulled him close and kissed him goodnight.

"You really need to look up what 'punishment' usually entails," the teen smiled lazily at him, and then blinked, eyes widening. "No, what am I saying?! Never look in a dictionary, ok?"

"I'm letting you get away with a lot today, but that's only today. Tomorrow starts with a blank slate, understood?"

"Mmm…" Robin hummed, making himself comfortable against the large man. "You might start with some plus points actually…"

"You should get hit on the head more often," the man chuckled. "Ow!"

"Ooops!" Robin innocently said, pulling his knee back. "Muscle cramp-thingy."

"Sure. Go to sleep. And no wandering around the ship alone tonight, alright?"

"Alright… night…" the teen mumbled and was out like a light.

The young hero woke up well rested and blinked in the light before he was able to grab his phone and check the time. Six thirty. Not a bad night's rest. When he sat up his wrist was grabbed by a Slade who still seemed to be asleep.

"No running around," the man muttered.

"Just going to the bathroom. Let me go or I can't promise I won't pee on you."

"We're not quite there yet in our relationship," Slade snorted and sat up, seemingly wide awake in a second.

"Ew. Let's never get there," Robin said. "Do you need the bathroom? If not I'm gonna shower as well."

"Go ahead," the man said. "I'm going to check in with the Batcave just in case."

"Good," Robin smiled and ducked into the bathroom. He enjoyed a long, well needed shower and came back out again to a pleased looking Slade.

"Everyone we found yesterday have been checked, no suspects among them, so the day off still stands."

"Great! Wouldn't it be amazing if the suspects aren't onboard at all?"

Slade gave him a strange look. "No, because then our missions would fail and they would be free to keep on murdering people… possibly risking the security of this country?"

"Oh… yeah… I didn't mean…" The teen said unsurely. "I just…"

"No, I like the way you would prefer this to just be a cruise," the man smirked.

"I wasn't thinking, okay?" Robin snorted. "I obviously need breakfast," he added.

"I'll hurry up and shower before more of your poor brain cells starve to death," Slade told him with a grin.

"Wow," Robin gasped. They had eaten and were now standing on the deck of the ship looking towards their destination. St. Thomas rose steeply out of the sea, its lush green sides dotted with white buildings. "It's a bit like mixing Greece with the tropics," Robin added.

"Looks very peaceful," Slade hummed.

"Don't tell me that was a bit of disgust I detected in your voice?" the teen laughed.

"I'm sure it's not boring," the man amended. "After all, it has tax free shopping."

Robbin chuckled. "Guess I have to be the one in charge of the wallet," he said and put his hand down Slade's back pocket.

"I don't carry my wallet there," the man snorted.

"Oh, I know," Robin grinned cheekily, his hand still in the man's pocket.

They heard a chuckle behind them and turned around to see the Germans, Carl and Victor, grinning at them.

"Too early in the morning for such things, isn't it?" Carl said.

"Never too early… or too late," Slade claimed, putting an arm around Robin.

"Ahh… romance… remember romance?" Victor teased his older partner.

"I'll show you-" Carl began but suddenly both their phones started beeping. They tensed, looked at their phones and quickly excused themselves.

"That was the same thing that happened when you broke into their cabin," Robin whispered to Slade.

"Maybe someone else did…" the man said. "Wait here!" he ordered and set off after the men.

"But-"

The man gestured for him to stay with an impatience that told Robin that he'd better obey.

Instead the teen started to scan the immediate area and then the whole deck for any familiar faces. People around him were _not_ currently breaking into a cabin, after all. The only ones he recognized, however, were the Swedes, but he knew the camera would pick out the others. Still, it wouldn't tell them much; this was a huge ship with many decks, it wasn't exactly crowded up here.

Robin waited nervously for the man to get back and breathed out a sigh of relief when he finally showed up. Slade took him to the side, under the pretense of enjoying the sight of the island they were now very close to.

"So?" Robin breathed.

"No luck. I couldn't stay too close or they would spot me, and when I got to their room the door was closed and all seemed quiet… I couldn't stick around without looking suspicious so I kept a lookout from our own corridor for a bit. There was nothing, though. I'm wondering if they actually ran back to their room."

"Where else would they go?"

"Beats me."

"I don't like them getting…. Um… harassed, by others. It's probably the CIA, though, right?"

"Yes. And I wish there was a hero-approved way to get rid of them." Slade smirked. "There isn't, is there?"

"Leave them behind on this island?" Robin grinned.

"I wish." Slade sighed. "Seriously, a couple of bullets-"

"No."

"You just don't like solving problems, do you?"

"Not that permanently."

Slade gave him a level look. "That is incredibly stupid."

"Yes, well, luckily you love me anyway," the teen grinned. Then, just an instant later, he heard his own words and paled dramatically before flushing like a tomato. Sure, they were in public, but far from people and that had just been a far too intimate thing to say.

Slade seemed to be waiting for all this to register with the teen before grinning evilly and kissing him. Other than that, the man didn't comment on the event at all and it took quite a long time for the blush to die down on the teen's cheeks.

When they got closer to port, the ship maneuvered so it would come up at the side of what, from this height, looked like a very flimsy jetty.

"We need to get down there and get in line," Slade decided, and so they did.

The waiting for passengers to go by them and be filmed was a success, and Robin heard his phone beep quite often. It seemed more people were leaving this time, maybe because it was easier to disembark, maybe because they had grown a little bored of the on-board experience or maybe it was the tax free shopping that called to them. There was also only one way people could pass, so Robin and Slade took up places on each side of the jetty, Robin pretending to film a vacation movie and Slade looking at a map he had gotten at the closest kiosk.

"And there's my handsome husband," Robin said and temporarily pointed the camera at Slade, who looked up from across the jetty, smiled and waved, making the teen snicker before he moved on. "That man would do anything for me," he added, a little quieter but very pleased. Then he remembered that his phone was transmitting to Bruce and brought it closer to his mouth. "Only joking!" he added under his breath. Fuck, life was complicated when your 'father' was looking over your shoulder…

Soon the passengers had left and spread wide and far across the island and there was no reason to keep film anymore. They turned the function off, looked around and tried to decide what to do.

"I don't even know where we are…" Robin admitted.

"Havensight port."

"Ok, so let's just cross the street and go from there," Robin said. That turned out to be harder than he thought, though. He was just about to cross a lane when Slade pulled him back by his shirt.

"Look out! You were almost run over!" the man told him.

Robin noticed the small truck thundering by as well and gaped.

"But…" he couldn't quite put two and two together so Slade helped.

"They drive on the left here,"

"What? Why!?" Robin somehow felt personally offended by the island's driving rules.

"The island used to belong to Denmark and they had left hand traffic at the time it was sold to the U.S," Slade explained.

"How do you just _know_ this stuff?" Robin, still a bit upset, asked.

"I didn't. It was on the map," Slade admitted, holding up the now folded tourist map.

"Okay. Hate you less," the teen admitted.

"Aaaw… warms my heart to hear," the man grinned. "Now, may I help the young sir to cross the street?" he asked and held out his arm.

"Hate you a bit more again," Robin grinned but took the man's arm anyway.

The first thing Robin noticed as they strolled along the street was all the colors. Each building seemed to compete with the next about which could have the loudest color, not to speak of the signs.

"Oh, dear, there's a Hooters," Robin sighed.

"Well, we should enjoy the local cultu-"

"No," the teen decided and pulled the man back. "But what are those things? Cable carts?"

It turned out that it was. The Skyride took tourists up to something called Paradise Point and Robin decided that was as good a place as any to start playing tourist. In the line they began talking to a local man who seemed to be working there, although it was unclear to Robin what he was actually doing.

"What is there to do on this island?" Slade asked him.

"Oh, lots, lots!" the man grinned.

Robin, who had grabbed Slade's map, which contained tourist locations, had spotted something interesting. "What about Black Beard's castle?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, very interesting, Built by the Danes… the Black Beard thing is probably just a legend, though…"

"Still would be interesting to see," Robin smiled

"Yeah, well… you can't."

"What? Why?"

"It's owned privately now… no admittance."

"Ah. Ok." Robin went back to scanning the map. "What's this then? Magens Bay Arboretum?"

"Oh, yeah, there's some really rare trees there."

"That sounds interesting," Robin only half lied.

"Yes," the native nodded. "But you can't go."

"What? Why?" Robin repeated.

"Closed. For repairs. Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria did a number on it in 2017. Not the first time it's been destroyed by hurricanes either."

"Ooookay…. So is there anywhere we can go?" the teen asked, getting a bit frustrated. "Magens Bay itself looks amazing from the pictures…?"

"Oh, you don't want to go there,"

"It's a _bay_ , it can't be closed too!?" the teen exclaimed.

"Nah, just a lot of tourists. Say, you guys like water sports?"

Robin's cheeks colored. "That's a very personal question, I-"

" _Not_ the kind of watersports he means, Robin," Slade interrupted with a chuckle. "But I'll be very interested to find out more about your preferences on that subject later, as you seemed so averse to it before."

"Oh!" the teen said and got even redder in the face. "I… I… yes…? I mean… I like… it…"

"Then you need to go to Lindbergh bay, only a fourteen minutes' drive from here. My cousin runs a flyboardning business there. Tell him Jimmy sent you, he'll hook you up!"

"That _does_ sound like fun!" Robin grinned.

"Well," Slade said, "I wouldn't be completely against trying the other kind of-OUFF!"

"Sorry, my elbow slipped into your ribs," Robin smiled brightly. "Accidents happen."

"Yes. You would do well to remember that," the man grumbled rubbing his side.

The carts were connected three and three, and each cabin was quite small, holding around eight people. Slade and Robin were lucky to share their ride with merely one other couple who only seemed to speak French. They didn't take any chances and stayed in character, though, but that wasn't too hard, pointing out things to each other, like huge iguanas climbing the trees nearby.

The view from the top was spectacular. They looked down over the blue harbor where several cruise ships now rested, looking like white skyscrapers that had toppled over in the water. How any of them could actually float was beyond Robin.

There were a few shops and places to eat and get a drink. They sat down on a big wooden deck to just enjoy the atmosphere. Slade had chosen to try an apparently famous drink called the Baileys BushWacker which looked like a delicious luxury milk shake, but after a trial sip Robin was glad he had stuck to a non-alcoholic frozen drink that was perfect in the sun. The heat was more tangible here when they didn't have the wind at sea to cool them down anymore, and the teen made sure he had brought his sun screen, applying some to his arms and face right away to be safe.

After enjoying his drink for a while Robin quickly browsed the souvenir stands and picked up a cheap pair of sunglasses as he had forgotten his own onboard. He hadn't planned on buying anything else but then he spotted a key ring he just had to have.

"Why are you grinning like that, you're making me nervous," Slade said as Robin walked up to him.

"Bought this," the teen said, grinning wider holding the key ring up.

"Yes, and?" the man said, looking at the thing but obviously not getting the joke.

"It's a whitehaired pirate with an eyepatch and a beard!" Robin explained. "It's you! You're my souvenir," he added with a snicker.

"Well, I see the pirate has a red breasted parrot on his shoulder… nice pet…" the man replied with a leer. "I wonder what that symbolizes?"

"Aw, don't ruin my key chain," Robin said sadly, looking at the thing again. "Well, the bird looks happy, anyway."

"I feel I should get some royalty," the man muttered.

Robin stood up in tip toes and pulled him down for a kiss. "There. Royalty," he said.

"Just a prepayment, I want it paid in full tonight."

Robin gestured over to the salesman, an old man in his sixties or seventies who didn't look like he had had an easy life. "I guess you have to ask the one who actually sells the stuff then."

"Ah…" Slade looked the man over. "I think I'll pass, then. So, where now? To that bay?"

"Yup! Although first we have to wait in line to get down," Robin said.

"We can't just jump…?" Slade groaned and looked like he considered it.

They found a bus line, of sorts, called Safaris. They were open air covered trucks with bench seats. They seemed to come in different colors and the one they got onto was dark green with yellow details. They had found out that you were supposed to pay when you got off, one dollar, and you had to stomp your feet or ring a bell when you wanted off. Robin kept a very close eye on his map.

It turned out the beach was close to the airport, but you couldn't tell that when you were there; the beach was fantastic. Robin changed into his trunks with a speed that seemed to impress even Slade and just beamed at the white sand and turquoise water.

"This is amazing!" he breathed and barely noticed Slade feeling him up a bit as the man was helping him applying sun block to his back.

"It's quite nice," the man agreed.

"Oh shut up!" Robin bit back. "Quit being so damn 'meh' about everything, it's okay to show some damn appreciation for things sometimes, you know!"

"I could write poems dedicated to your ass, but I've seen more beaches like this," the man shrugged.

Robin found it a bit difficult to be angry at him after that. They had no problem finding the flyboarding rental and soon had their first lesson. From the moment those plastic boots where strapped onto his feet and he was lifted by the jet stream of water Robin loved it. The session was only thirty minutes but they bought more time. And then more. Flying through the air and the water, jumping like a dolphin, was, despite all of his gadgets and all of the time spent with friends like Aqualad and Beast Boy, one of the best experiences of his life.

After almost two hours Slade called a temporary stop to the joy, though, claiming that they had to eat and drink something before the sun would fry their brains and bodies alike. Only then did Robin realize how hungry he was. They found a Caribbean restaurant by the beach called The New Ashleys. Robin had the baked chicken while Slade was a bit more daring in his choices, but they both tried each other's food anyway. They could see the airport from the front but sat on the side facing the ocean and beach, refreshing themselves with soda and ice cold beer. Well, Slade had the beer, Robin still wanted to be careful around alcohol. The teen demanded one more go at flyboarding and Slade agreed even though he muttered about the trouble with getting changed again. There were bathrooms at the beach, though, and when it was time to leave, Robin decided to just wear his trunks and shirt and keep the rest of his clothes in the bag.

They travelled back by taxi this time, and it was four in the afternoon when they got returned to the ship. They showered, changed and set out again by five. The ship wouldn't leave until ten in the evening, and they still needed to see the city of Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the Virgin Islands, a bit more in depth.

"I wonder if I would feel more at home here or get some kind of discount if I _hadn't_ had sex with you…" Robin wondered out aloud.

"Regretting it?" Slade snorted, like he couldn't believe something that silly.

"Well, you have to agree that it's kinda stupid to lose your virginity just two days before you actually set foot on the Virgin Islands…?" Robin insisted. "Like it's… ironic? Okay, no, you obviously don't get it," he added with a laugh after getting a look from the man. "You can take my Virgin Island virginity tonight, though?" the teen offered with a cheeky smile.

"I'll humbly accept that generous offer," the man answered and almost didn't sound sarcastic at all.

They strolled around aimlessly. The city didn't really look like a capital, it definitely had more of a town feeling, but the architecture was interesting.

"The Danish left a mark, huh?" Robin said, looking at a façade that didn't exactly scream 'tropical island'.

"They must have. This looks quite Danish in places."

"You've been to Denmark? Or have you just read another map?" Robin asked.

"I've been. I travelled around Scandinavia quite a few years ago."

"Doing what? Because there was a Swedish Prime minister who was shot-"

"Classified."

"I see." Robin let the issue go, though. People dying around thirty years ago wasn't really his business, he thought. He kinda had to focus on the people right here and now.

They browsed through the shops and Robin bought a pair of leather sandals which were quickly made to fit perfectly. Slade, on the other hand, bought rum, which the teen wrinkled his nose at.

"How can you drink that stuff, it's so awful!" he said, which somehow prompted the man to buy the Island's famous banana daiquiri as well. "Well, if you want to drink something that tastes of medicine and booze…" the teen muttered.

Next Slade bought something which he gave to Robin, however. It was a weird thing, a doll which first seemed to have very long legs but then the teen realized that it was on stilts.

"It's a Moko Jumbie doll. It walks on stilts to see evil spirits and then gets rid of them by mocking them," the man explained and then grinned. "I thought that suited you."

"I got the point, thank you," The teen laughed and kissed the man.

Robin then bought a cook book for Alfred and a "genuine pirate coin" for Bruce. He didn't know how "genuine" it was, the vendor claimed it had been found in a shipwreck, but it didn't matter too much to the teen, it was something he thought his mentor would appreciate either way. Just the irony of pirated pirate coins would amuse him.

The pirate heritage showed everywhere, and Robin had a great time teasing Slade about getting a wooden leg and a parrot, to which the man replied things that should not be repeated in front of children. He was quite imaginative, however, mentioning who he preferred on his shoulder and what he intended to do with the many inches of wood he already possessed.

They found a restaurant with a view over the bay and had spent almost two hours there, about to go back to the ship, when they heard the first siren. And then another. They all seemed to zero in on the docks, and people started whispering, looking around and reaching for their phones. Robin, who hadn't paid much attention at first, realized that this was the difference between his world and this one. Back in Jump, and even more so Gotham, no one would have even looked around at the sound of sirens.

"I wonder if there's a fire? Maybe we should go back to the ship?" the teen suggested.

"It's getting to be that time anyway," Slade agreed. "Let's go and investigate a little."

 _To be Continued…_

A/N: It's going to be interesting to hear what's completely wrong with this from the reader who lives there, there are some details I'm not completely clear on, some qualified guesses and some complete fantasy-stuff, so… umm… yeah… And not the nice relaxing day off is at an end, because those sirens… well… You'll see next week.


	7. Chapter 7: Soon Will be Making Another R

A/N: This has really caught up with me because this is the last finished chapter… I'll TRY writing the next one for next Saturday as planned but it might be a little late….

 **Chapter 7: Soon Will be Making Another Run**

The hubbub was, indeed, centered around the port, although not close to their own ship. There were ambulances and police vehicles, and police were busy forcing people back. They were all wearing masks.

"Shit," Robin whispered under his breath.

"Agreed. We should leave. There's way too late to pick up on any clues anyway, and we don't want to be spotted here, by the wrong people."

"Alright, just sending Bruce some images," Robin agreed, holding his phone. "There, let's go back."

"Hopefully they aren't clever enough to hold the cruise ships," Slade muttered under his breath. Robin noticed that the man walked differently, a bit hunched, so his true height wasn't as obvious. The teen figured it made sense, figured that if this was what they suspected it to be, then US military service would be combing through film from the scene, and someone, somewhere, might have information on a certain white-haired mercenary.

"Would it be alright for me to ask around, find out if anyone knows what has happened?" Robin quietly asked as they were closing in on their ship.

"Do. Curiosity should be considered normal," the man nodded.

So, after they showed their ID and got registered as being on board, Robin walked up to some staff members who seemed to be milling around.

"We saw all the commotion down there, has someone been hurt?"

"Rumors say two people suddenly seemed to fall ill and maybe died," a woman told him, "but we don't know yet."

"That's scary! Will we be allowed to leave on time? What if it's anything contagious?"

"We haven't received any information about keeping us here," the woman replied. "But if we do, we'll let you know by the PA system as soon as we can."

"Thank you… I really hope they weren't from this ship! Is there some way to see if our friends are back?"

"Are you family?"

"No, no, we just met on this cruise," Robin admitted, because he didn't want to be caught in a lie in this situation, "but I worry anyway."

"It's understandable, everyone should be on board by nine forty-five, and as this is a special circumstance, we are trying to get information from the police and we'll start contacting passengers that aren't onboard yet soon. I can't let you see who has boarded, though."

"Ok, I understand, I'll go by their cabins and see if they are in," Robin smiled. "Thank you," he added and left.

The teen filled in Slade who had already talked to Bruce, who promised to get back to them as soon as he had any information. For now, they had to rely on local news, which seemed to be slow and vague at best.

Robin hurried to the German's cabin and knocked on it, while Slade continued to their own. The Germans were not only the top of their list of suspects, they were also the ones that it was most natural for Robin to contact like this. The rest they had to look up in other ways.

The teen had almost decided to go when the door opened a smidge, just to instantly open wider, revealing a smiling Victor Weber in a towel, dripping wet.

"Oh, sorry!" the teen began, his eyes darting here and there. The cabin looked like a bit of a mess, it was clear they had both just stepped out of their clothes and straight into the shower after coming on board. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright! They say two people have died in the port! Or at least fallen really ill…"

"Really? From what?" Victor said.

"I don't know, but apparently they got sick?" the teen said, hearing the shower still running. "I… um… I didn't mean to interrupt anything… did you just got back?"

"We've been here a while, we got a bit fed up with shopping."

"Slade bought so much booze I'm worried," Robin muttered.

"He's not…? I mean, if he's… when he's drunk…?"

Robin understood the man's hints and smiled, "No, no, he's not a nasty drunk, it's more that he's… quite the opposite… I mean you've seen Slade, right? Now imagine him a bit clingy and wanting to be everyone's best friend…"

Victor burst out laughing. "I'd almost like to see that," he grinned at the teen. "I haven't seen much of that so far…"

"Nah, and he holds his liquor really well, and normally never overdoes it," Robin chuckled, "But he apparently liked the rum… We'll see, hopefully he'll save most of it for when we come home. But I'm not gonna keep you any longer, just wanted to make sure you were ok," Robin smiled.

"That's sweet of you," the man smiled back, "I might just duck into the shower again with Carl… to warm up."

Robin blushed. "You do that, bye!" he said and went back to his own cabin.

"I think they lied, I think they just got back," he told Slade a few minutes later.

"They could have gone straight into the shower an hour ago and had a lot of fun," the man shrugged, "but noted."

"Any news?"

"Yes. Apparently the first person on the scene has fallen sick too and is critical. They are investigating other potential victims."

"Sounds like Novitjok, doesn't it?" Robin said and shivered.

"It does. No confirmed dead yet, but if it is the poison, they might want to keep it quiet as well."

"I'm checking the news," Robin decided and turned on the TV as well as his cellphone. He stretched out on the bed to watch it, but after about thirty minutes he sighed. "Either it's just a case of food poisoning or people are keeping this very quiet," he muttered and started channel surfing. Slade, who had produced a laptop from somewhere and was seated in the sofa, only hummed in reply, focused on the screen.

"Huh," Robin said after a while.

"What?" Slade finally looked up.

"Oh, nothing," the teen shrugged. "It's just that this show, Banged up Abroad…."

"Yes?"

"Wasn't what I thought it would be about," the teen grinned.

"Oh?" Slade started leering.

"Yeah, it wasn't as fun…" Robin continued to grin. "It was about going to prison…""

"And you thought it was…?"

"Like I said, something more fun!"

"Let me guess… wanna be banged up abroad? In the fun way?" the man sat the laptop aside and stood up.

Robin grinned wider and shimmied down so he was flatter on his back. "You're sure you're not too tired?" he asked innocently.

Slade had no real option than to pounce.

Clothes went flying everywhere and they had just gotten nice and naked when Robin's phone rang.

"Dammit!" the teen groaned and answered. Slade rolled off him, but were still right there, caressing him. Robin turned on his side, which was a bad move as it only gave the man more access and by the time the teen answered the phone Slade was pressed up against his back. "Yes?" Robin answered, his voice going up a little as his partner just seemed to empty half a bottle of lotion between his cheeks.

"You sound a bit stressed, any news?" Bruce asked.

"No, but we're looking," the teen lied. "Anything from your end?" Slade was slowly lifting Robin's upper leg and the teen struggled against it, understanding what the vile bastard had in mind.

"All three critical, but no names have been released officially."

"And unofficially?"

"A Russian and his wife, the third victim a local nurse, most likely not involved at all."

"Dammit!" the teen grunted, as Slade pushed against him.

"Yes." Bruce sounded a bit confused, maybe feeling that there was an unusual amount of empathy in the teen's voice.

Robin, however, had an idea how to stop what was going on. "Bruce, I was on my way to the bathroom, I'm going to hand the phone over to Slade," he said and did so, with a triumphant look. Let's see if the man could talk with what was going on. Unfortunately, he had underestimated him.

"I'm putting you on speaker," Slade said as he got the phone, and did so, despite Robin violently shaking his head and mouthing 'NO!'.

Slade set down the phone on the night stand and with his hands free could much easier maneuver Robin where he wanted him. The teen tried to stifle a grunt as the man sank into him.

"What was that?" Bruce asked.

"Seems Robin might have had something bad for dinner," Slade said as he pulled the teen up on his hands and knees instead

"Ah. Well, like I told Robin…" the man repeated what he had already said and Slade asked follow up questions while setting a quick pace. The young hero, on the other hand, was busy pressing his face into the pillow so no sound would escape. Still, a whimper or two did.

"There's a lot of noise on your end," Bruce stated.

"The balcony door is slightly ajar and there's seagulls outside," Slade lied smoothly. "Some little birds don't know how to keep quiet," he added for Robin's benefit.

"Well, they can be…. noisy…" Bruce commented lamely. "I'm going to need you to take a stroll around the public areas of the ship, just to see if there's any rumors… anyone who saw it happen."

"We will," Slade agreed, reaching around to stroke Robin's length. "Although I expect people are tired after a long day ashore."

"If… If anyone saw anything…" Robin started, through gritted teeth, "they would want to tell the story. I say we go browse the bars."

"Oh, you're back, how's your stomach?" Bruce asked.

"It's… fine," Robin bit the pillow to avoid a gasp. He was very, very close by now and he needed the call to end quickly. "Let us… let us know if you find out anything else, alright?" he asked.

"Of course. You don't sound quite fine, though, make sure to go to the infirmary if you don't feel better soon, okay?"

"MM-hhhm."

"Good. We'll be in touch."

As soon as Robin heard the line disconnect, he moaned loudly and a second later it was all over. "You… bastard…" he panted.

"Don't tell me it wasn't fun," Slade chuckled behind him.

"I hate you!"

"You're angry at me?"

"KINDA!"

"Then let's remind you that I'm good at sex. I was supposed to, as I recall."

Robin just collapsed on the bed. "Kill me now…" he groaned as he fought the stupid laughter that was taking over his irritation. It helped that he had just come. It was difficult being angry with people who made you feel that good.

"Forgiven?" Slade asked and kissed his neck.

"Fine, okay… but don't do that again or those potato peelers will get some use!" Robin warned him.

"Oh, yes, Bruce's contraption, I had almost forgotten," the man sighed. "Well, that was merely about keeping you alive, right?"

"I think that can be changed…"

"Into 'pleasing you in bed'? That's unfair," the man snorted with laughter in his voice. Then a pillow hit him in the face and Robin was pretty proud that he had been so quick that even Slade hadn't been able to block it.

"We need to get out there again!" Robin said quickly, raising his hands, as he saw the man grab a pillow of his own. "Truce?"

"I'm a professional," Slade snorted, almost like he was trying to convince himself he was, and put the pillow down. Reluctantly, by the looks of it. "Let's get ready."

They washed off and changed into pristine vacation wear, Slade complaining that he was starting to feel "preppy" by now. Robin, who had spent more than half of his civilian life in clothes like these, only grinned at him.

"You look good, though," the teen said.

"I look good in anything," Slade snorted, giving the young man a teasing smirk.

"I'm getting you a onsie."

"What the hell is that?" the man wanted to know, not one to follow youth trends.

"Let's just say that you have to remember your claim," Robin chuckled.

"You scare me," the mercenary stated, having the teen laugh out loud.

They walked arm in arm through the ship, but many seemed to have partied themselves out on the island and were having a quiet night in their cabins. The bars were the best bet, though, and there they found some people, socializing in groups, talking about the day. Robin easily had them join one of the bigger parties and soon they were hearing all kinds of versions of what had happened on shore, but no one had seen anything first hand.

The swedes were there, looking worried and a bit sad. "We saw the… masks? Protective masks is that the word?" the man Robin was fairly sure was Andreas asked. Damn, they looked alike!

Robin nodded. "Yeah, it's scary… I mean… what would they use that for? Some kind of gas?"

"I wouldn't know about any of that stuff," Slade said, scratching his neck, and Robin had to take a deep sip from his glass to stop himself from snorting. "But I hope it's not some kind of illness… you know, something that can spread?"

Now the poor Swedes looked even more worried.

"You think it can be? What if someone brought it onboard?" the other Swede, Linus, asked.

"Nah, I mean… it's not like there are any those kinds of really dangerous illnesses around anymore, right?" Robin said. "Besides, the staff would have said something, I'm sure."

"No one here saw what happened?" Andreas asked, looking around, but only got shaking heads as a reply. "Let's go ask around, I want to make sure we're safe," he told his husband, and wound an arm around him.

"Let us know if you hear anything!" Robin begged, and got smiles and nods in reply.

They moved on themselves, but no matter how many they spoke with they didn't find out anything worthwhile. The Germans stayed out of sight and so did the CIA, they noted.

"They should have been informed, shouldn't they?" Robin said.

"Most likely, yes," Slade agreed.

"I know we can't go knocking on their door and come clean, but- wait… why can't we? Four against two?" the teen said.

He got a flat look from Slade. "No."

"But…?"

"Very bad idea for both of us. Do you think the CIA would just agree to keep our identities secret? I have considered involving them if the situation got out of hand, but as it is…"

"Okay, got it. But we haven't even confirmed that they are on board," Robin insisted. "Let's go invite them for drinks. We've had drinks with them before, it wouldn't be too weird."

"It would be good to see how they act," Slade nodded. "Very well, let's go. Oh, and Robin?"

"Yeah?" the teen said, hurrying along beside the man whose strides were much longer than his.

"You're not the boss here."

"I'm not NOT the boss," Robin snorted. "Batman is. I'm doing what I think he'd want me to. YOU are definitely not the boss of me at least… though I'll be happy to pretend to keep you happy," he added with a grin, grabbing the man's arm in order to slow him down a bit.

Slade snorted and gave him a sideways grin. "Pretend harder."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Atta boy," the man chuckled. "Now, go get them," he said, nodding to the cabin door of their CIA 'friends'. Slade was standing behind him, but keeping back, observing.

Robin knocked rapidly and had almost given up when the door opened just a smidge.

"Yeah?" a gruff voice said from inside.

"Hi Derek!" Robin said brightly. "Wanna grab a couple of drinks? Everyone is boring and has gone to bed!"

"Tim got a bit of a sun stroke today, we've turned in," the man told him dismissively.

"Oh, no, that sucks," the teen groaned. "There's no one fun for us to play with then…" he added with a bit of a flirty grin. "He's okay, though? Have you called the doc?"

"He's fine, he just needs fluids and rest, he'll be his old self again tomorrow I'd wager."

"Good to hear. Well, give him a kiss from us, ok?" Robin said. "And we'll see you tomorrow?"

"Bright and early." The man had a small smile on his face, which Robin recognized. Bruce always had that exact smile when he was mingling at parties.

"Night!" The teen waved. "Honey, seems we have to find someone else to party with," he sighed as he turned to Slade, in case the men were listening at the door.

"Why don't we make it a private party?" Slade suggested and Robin yelped as his ass was grabbed.

"I married a sex monster!" he half objected, half giggled.

"One of my many, many perks," the man leered, and led the young hero down the hallway. He bent down to kiss the teen's ear and whispered. "Keep it up until we're back at in our cabin."

So they did. They didn't have that far to go, in the big u-bend hallway, but they managed to make several kissing and groping pit-stops and once they reached their door their clothes were far from pristine, and barely on, anymore.

When they were in their room and the door had closed behind them, however, it was all business.

"They were lying, the lamps were all on inside, and I saw the blue light or several screens. They had not gone to bed," Robin started.

"No, still dressed too," Slade supplied. "He had mussed his hair up on purpose. He was tense, I assume they are working their asses off, and it kills me that we can't get the information they might have."

"I know, right?" Robin sighed. "And the hallway thing? You think they are watching?"

"I'm pretty sure the CIA are the ones who has been messing with the video feed, yes. Maybe our targets too, but if I were them, I'd at least watch us walk away, to see what we'd do."

"Sure you just didn't want to fondle my ass?" Robin smirked.

"I'm not complaining about my work load at the moment," Slade chuckled. "So… 'boss', what would you have us do?"

"I thought I didn't get to be the boss?" Robin said innocently.

"I just didn't' feel like calling Bruce again," Slade shrugged. "So I'm willing to take suggestions."

"Generous," the teen snorted and rolled his eyes. "Well, tomorrow morning, at seven, the ship will arrive to Philipsburg. For all we know our suspects might decide to disappear there. Their job is done, after all. And sure, the Germans are at the top of the list, but we can't be sure… and they have their damn rooms protected."

"We'll dock tomorrow, just as in St. Thomas," Slade muttered after consulting the information booklet they had been provided with when boarding. "Dammit, it would have been easier if we knew that they had no fast and easy way back."

"But like I said, they could leave the cruise altogether?" Robin repeated.

"Possibly, but that would make them look suspicious, and it's easier to just continue to act as tourists and disappear back on main land at Fort Lauderdale."

"If you say so," the teen shrugged. "So do we sit tight and just hope they leave the ship?"

"We still can't enter their cabin without triggering their alarm," Slade pointed out. "We need to disable that first."

"Or the thing that alerts them; their cell phones," Robin said and dug out his bag. "I brought a few things…"

After that the cabin turned into tech central for a bit where ideas were discussed, tried and dismissed one after the other until they had reached a valid solution.

"I don't like it," Slade said.

Robin sighed. "Yes, I _know_ the electro magnetic pulse would just fry their phones and we could do it by just standing next to them, but -as I've tried to tell you-"

"They are likely to check their phones, see that they are both fried and know something is up, yes, yes," Slade muttered. "'Pausing' the app that alerts them is better, but it takes a lot more work and it all falls apart if we don't meet them tomorrow morning. If they slip through our fingers…"

"Yeah, well… the magnetic pulse thing is also kinda depending on meeting them."

"Yes, well, in that case it would have been enough to pass them in the hallway. Now we need to keep them occupied."

"I know, but it will be quick. I've seen their phones, I know the brand," Robin insisted. "You can choose what apps it will pause, and as we are pretty sure it's their own program, I'm just gonna let everything from main, authorized app-makers run as normal… that way they can use their phones, and they most likely won't notice anything at all. I can do this!"

"You can, but you won't," Slade decided.

"What? But-!" the teen objected.

"Because I can do it too, and you need your sleep." Slade told him.

"I can do a forty-eight, no problem," Robin snorted.

"Yes, you can, but I prefer if you get at least _some_ sleep, and there's no reason for you not to. You can check my work if you insist."

Robin hesitated, hating to let go, but then reluctantly nodded. "Very well, it makes sense," he sighed. They worked together to get things started and then Robin changed into his sleeping pants and curled up on bed. Slade put the lights out and dimmed the light from his screen.

"I could do this from the couch?" the man offered as he was sitting on the bed next to to the young hero. Robin smiled up at him and shook his head.

"Nah, it's not a problem, I'm used to sleeping anywhere I can," he said. "A little tapping on a keyboard won't bother me." And it didn't. Robin found himself feeling that it was all strangely cozy, although he shivered slightly after a few minutes. Before he had time to reach for the covers himself, Slade was already pulling them up around him with one hand, still focusing on the screen. Robin chuckled and closed his eyes, drifting off.

"Rise and shine." It was clearly an order and Robin blinked against the light in the room. It felt like he had barely fallen asleep and a glance at his phone told him that it was five in he morning.

"Urgh…" he muttered.

"I ordered breakfast, there's coffee," Slade let him know.

"Can you just inject some directly into my blood stream?" Robin muttered and sat up. He usually had no problems waking up quickly and if the man had given any sign that an emergency was going on, the teen would be more alert by now, but Slade didn't give off any such signals. The man was just sitting back down on the bed and reached for the laptop again, but Robin could both see and smell that he had just taken a shower and wondered how he could have slept through that too. He stretched and groaned.

"You sound like you're eighty. Do you need help out of bed?" the mercenary mocked him.

"You're the one who should be looking into retirement homes of the two of us," Robin snorted good naturally and started stretching once he got to his feet. "I think flyboarding that much yesterday used muscles I wasn't quite aware I had," he added, in defense of his stiffness. He noticed that the man's eye was on him and grinned. "See something you like?" he chuckled, and his moves turned a bit more sensual.

"Yes. Eat and get dressed, we need to be ready," the man told him, a bit of regret in his voice.

Robin turned professional again, a little bit ashamed of himself, and nodded. Soon he was sitting next to the man munching on a sandwich and gulping down orange juice while looking over Slade's shoulder at the screen.

"It's all done?" he asked.

"Yes, but each phone needs to be hooked up to it for about five to ten seconds," Slade said and gestured to a memory-stick sized gadget that Robin had helped Batman develop to access cell phones.

"We'll make it happen," Robin said confidently. The man gave him a look that spoke volumes of what he thought of that confidence.

"Direct confrontation might be the last, but necessary, step," the man then said. "Knock them out or drug them and search the place, secure the evidence-"

"Which might not be there," Robin pointed out. "Besides, now that the poison is used, what evidence can we expect to find?"

"Containers, advanced medical supplies and protective gear."

"Wouldn't they have dumped all that too?"

"Too valuable and rare to dump. These are things you can't buy at a pharmacy, and as it's not a one-time thing I assume they would want to hold on to it."

"Ah, yeah." Robin agreed, stuffing more sandwich into his mouth. "I wish there was time to download their phones."

"Would take too long," Slade said, shaking his head.

"I know," the teen agreed. "But it sure would help. So, what is the plan? Why am I awake this early?"

"I'm keeping an eye on their door," Slade let him know. "And yes, I'm sure the feed isn't hacked, I've tested it. We need to catch them when they leave, so get ready. Then we'll wait."

And wait they did. A quarter past six Slade suddenly stood up. Robin followed instantly and they were out the door without a word. A moment later they had 'ran into' the men while they were waiting for an elevator.

"Hi guys! Early birds as well?" Robin grinned.

"Hi, yes, we really wanted to explore Philipsburg today," the younger 'German' smiled. The next moment he made a face and clutched his back, though.

"Oh, that doesn't look good, is your backpain back?" Robin asked worriedly.

"I told him not to go water skiing yesterday," Carl snorted.

"Let me feel it, won't take a moment," Slade said and in his authoritarian way, Victor suddenly found himself turned towards the wall, hands high up on it, while Slade felt through his muscles from his thighs up.

"Do you mind if I show Robin something?" Slade asked and barely waited for an answer. "Look here, back pains sometimes originate from this muscle, much lower down, then tension creates the pain which flares up here," Slade put his hand on a place that made the man yelp. "Sorry," the mercenary said as he handed Robin the phone he had just lifted from Victor's pocket. Robin quickly inserted the gadget into the phone's charger outlet while pretending to follow Slade's instructions. A very light vibration a few seconds later told him it was done, and he slipped the phone back into the man's pocket.

"I should really give you another massage, but yes, you have strained yourself," Slade told the man who now was putty in his hands. "If you have time for a few more minutes?"

"Mmh-mm…" Victor mumbled.

"We were on our way to breakfast," Carl said, plainly in more of a hurry.

"Well, they are both clearly too busy for us," Robin snorted playfully and grabbed the older German's arm. "Would you like to be a gentleman and escort me down to breakfast while my husband is busy pawing another man in plain sight?"

Carl gave a chuckle and patted Robin's hand. "Always willing to help," he said and leered a bit.

Robin just smiled innocently back. In the elevator he let the man's hands wander slightly, because then the 'German' didn't pay close enough attention to anything else. Robin could easily enough lift his phone and plug that too into the device. Afterwards he gently removed the man's hand from his ass and giggled.

"I _am_ married," he told him, although he made sure to sound a bit regretful. He still let the man escort him to the breakfast restaurant and then Slade and Victor arrived not much later, Victor walking slightly easier.

Robin joined his 'husband' and expressed how proud he was that the man had been able to help while Slade played somewhat overprotective and even gave Carl a bit of a warning glare. They then excused themselves to go to the breakfast buffet and got lost among the crowd.

"Done?" Slade asked once they reached a quiet spot.

"Of course," Robin replied. "See? No problem."

"Hm," the man just muttered. "What happened in the elevator?"

"A lot of hands everywhere. You would have been proud of me," the teen added a bit sarcastically.

"Hm," Slade commented again.

Robin ignored him. "Well, I hope they truly do leave like they said they would," he said.

"And not with a suspicious amount of luggage," Slade muttered.

"What do we do then?"

"Follow them and hunt them down on the island. We can't let them get away."

"Alright," Robin nodded, "I don't like the idea, but I agree."

"If it comes to that, I'm taking over," Slade told him.

"No, you-"

"I'm the man hunter, and if they realize that they are followed it's going to get dangerous. You stay behind."

"But you can't-"

There weren't many people around to see Slade push him up against the wall, and the man's mouth ghosted over his skin, making it look like they were making out.

"Yes," the man growled quietly. "I can. And if you do something stupid, boy, you'll find yourself tied and gagged in our suite until it's over. Knocked out if I have to. Is. That. Understood?"

"You- You just can't-!" Robin insisted.

The man sighed and leaned so close that their foreheads were touching. "I never thought I'd say this," Slade began. "But if you don't agree, I'll call Batman."

" _You_ are threatening _me_ with Batman?" Robin snorted.

"Who do you think he'd support in this?"

The teen mulled it over and then groaned in defeat. "Fine. I won't get in your way, I won't do anything stupid."

"Hopefully you'll keep that promise forever."

"For this mission!"

"Dammit. Oh, well, as long as my skin remains where it is, I guess I have to be happy."

"Yup." Robin grinned.

"Fine." Slade stepped away. "Let's go back, locate our targets and keep an eye on them.

About forty-five minutes later the Germans were done with breakfast and headed back to their room.

"We can't just hang around here and wait for them to leave," Robin whispered to Slade. "Should we wait down by the docks?"

"We might miss them in the crowd," Slade said and looked around. "Ah," he added and walked up to a maintenance closet. He unlocked it by swiping his phone over the electronic key pad, and held it open for Robin. "You wait and watch, they probably won't be long. I'm going to wait in the cabin and you send me a message when they leave."

"Very well, I'll do the uncomfortable part," the teen muttered.

"You're smaller than me, you won't feel as crowded," the man just chuckled and shoved him inside.

The young hero only had to wait for half an hour before the men emerged, carrying nothing more than could be expected for a day ashore. They passed Robin's door, looking relaxed and speaking softly. The teen listened intently but couldn't pick up on what the men said. One thing was clear, though; they weren't speaking English.

To be Continued…

A/N: Just because they don't speak English doesn't mean they are bad! Robin is so racist… 😉 Like I said, I'll try to finish the next chapter for next week… there's not more than one-max 3 chapters left, I don't think, depending a bit on how it goes…


	8. Chapter 8: Promises Something for Everyo

A/N: wow, I managed to finish this chapter in time, yay me! I'm half through the next one and I'm not sure whether to end it there or if there's one chapter more left… but two, max three chapters left, I think. Now, let's see if the boys can't get in a bit more trouble, ok?

 **Chapter 8: Promises Something for Everyone**

Robin hurriedly sent the message to Slade and stayed in the closet until he was sure the men were out of the hallway. He opened the closet door just as Slade came around the corner.

"Do we search together?" the teen asked.

"I'd rather not have you digging through their things if something is contaminated," Slade said, shaking his head. "See if you can follow them off the ship instead."

Robin nodded and hurried after the men. He knew which floor they must have gone to, to be able to leave the ship, but when the elevator opened a lot of people were waiting to get off. The first familiar faces he saw were the Swedes, who were hanging out close by, seemingly in no apparent hurry.

"Hi, have you seen Victor and Carl?" Robin asked them, thinking it might save some time. "Me and Slade kinda-sorta ditched them as breakfast and I feel bad…"

"They will be down soon, they had forgotten their cameras," Andreas said.

"Wait, they were here and went up again?" Robin asked, cursing the multiple elevators.

"Yeah?"

"When?"

"Well, a couple of minutes ago…? Maybe?" Andreas looked perplexed.

"Ah, ok, good. But that reminds me I forgot my camera too!" Robin said and quickly jumped into the nearest elevator while already texting Slade. 'Get out!' he wrote.

The ride was the slowest ever, and it stopped on a few floors too. No reply from Slade. Robin was on the balls of his feet, biting his lip, itching to move. Once the doors finally slid open on the right floor he pushed through and ran.

The hallway was empty, peaceful. No voices, no sign of violence. When Robin reached the door, he hesitated. Knock? Rush in? In both circumstances he'd be breaking his promise. Then he heard it. Two thuds. Sounds that others might take for a carefully opened champagne bottle but Robin knew were gunshots. Gunshots with a suppressor. Loud enough to be heard, but without the sharp crack of a normal gun shot.

In any other situation he would have rushed in. But he had promised. Besides, Slade had the healing factor, not him. But that didn't mean he couldn't do something, and hopefully, he could get the cavalry. It was time to get some more hands involved.

He turned and ran, hoping they hadn't left yet. The CIA, they would need to get involved, no matter what Slade said. He knocked rapidly on the cabin door and whooped with joy as it opened.

"Hurry! Let me in, we need help!" he begged Derek, who had been the one that opened.

"Help?" The man didn't step aside and Robin knew he had to lay the cards on the table.

Keeping his voice down, he whispered. "I know you're CIA, ok? Slade is in the Russian's cabin-" he was let in then, almost dragged in. "Thank you!" he said, and as the door closed behind him. "We're private investigators," he claimed, which they had planned to use as cover if they ever would have to explain themselves. "Our client got us on this cruise to expose two men, possibly Russians, who kill people with Novitjok, you know what I'm talking about, of course?" he said.

"Of course," Derek said calmly. "And Slade got surprised by the suspects?"

"Yes. He broke into their cabin and they came back-"

"There's a motion detector," Tim said. "We were almost trapped too."

"We knew, we thought we had disabled it, it might just have been a fluke, I don't know, but they are in there now and I heard shooting and we need help!" Robin started to get frustrated by the men's professional calm. If he had been suspicious at all he would have seen the small nod Tim, in front of him, gave Derek who was still behind him, by the door, and he would have reacted, but as it was, the teen's mind was only on what was possibly going on in the other cabin. The impact on the back of his head was therefor a complete surprise.

He sagged onto the carpeted floor, same pattern as in their cabin he idly noticed as the darkness swallowed him up. Just before he passed out completely, he heard one of the men swear. In Russian.

He woke up on a much harder surface, a tiled marble floor. Again, he recognized it from his own suite and realized that he was in the bathroom. He tried to move, but gasped as pain shot from his neck and into his arms which were twisted behind his back and held there by… something. Robin rested his forehead against the cool tiles, just waiting for things to clear up. It was difficult to breathe. His mouth was so stuffed with fabric of some kind that, whatever it was, tickled the back of his throat, threatening to make him gag.

"He's awake," a voice said. Tim's, Robin thought.

"Already? Just like last time, then. Must have a thick skull." That was definitely Derek.

"Not thick enough for a bullet." Tim again, and he didn't really sound like he was joking.

"There are better ways. But later. We need to sort this out now. Ready to go?"

"Can we just leave him here?"

"He can hardly move," Derek said dismissingly. "And he's tied up. He's not going anywhere."

"Alright." Tim gave in. "Let's go then. Play tourists. But only for an hour or two. Make sure we're seen and then make up an excuse to get back early."

"Sure. Bye, kid. You're gonna take a swim tonight, nothing personal," Derek told him. Robin wasn't even looking at them, he was busy just breathing through the pain.

"Maybe we can have some fun with him first?" Tim suggested.

"You're always thinking with your dick, but sure. He's cute. And it's always fun when you don't have to be careful."

"Are you sure that Slade guy won't come looking for him, though?" Tim seemed to be the cautious one in the duo.

"If what the kid said is true that guy's dead by now. He won't come looking for anyone."

With that the men left and Robin tried to move again. He didn't have time to lie around here, but time was exactly what he needed, because as of now, he could barely wriggle. He discovered that his hands were indeed tied with some kind of cloth, and his feet were in turn tied to the pipe under the sink so he couldn't crawl out of the bathroom somehow. They had used neck-ties, he saw, and assumed they had done the same to his wrists. He closed his eyes for just a moment, fighting the need to throw up. The gag keeping the stuffing in his mouth was tied hard around his head and he couldn't budge it. He couldn't even move his jaw and definitely not his tongue. He tried crying out for help, just making any kind of noise, but it was very muffled. Most people had probably left the ship as well. He could hope the men had forgotten to leave the sign on the door that called for no cleaning so a maid would come by, but he doubted that.

 _Okay… look around. Use what's around you…_ he thought to himself. The floors, however, were clean. He struggled to sit up on his knees, having to take a few short breaks to do so, and now he was luckier. On the counter next to the sink was a leather toiletry bag. It was just a matter of reaching it.

His feet were tied so close to the pipe that he couldn't stand up, but he contorted his limber body enough to turn as much as possibly towards the bag and lean closer. He could just touch it with his nose and he managed to tip it over. From there he extended his neck as far as he could, placed his chin on the bag and then pulled it to the edge and over it, letting it fall down on the floor. He twisted around and had no problem opening the zipper. He spilled the contents out on the floor, listening to the sound the things made and then turned around hopefully, looking down on the assortment of things. The first item he spotted was a razor and he grinned, turning around and searching for it with his fingers. He quickly found the handle and began positioning it to slice over the fabric that held his hands together. He expected it to go quickly and frowned after a while when nothing seemed to be happening. He very carefully felt the blades and frowned.

"Fucking safe shaving technology," he growled as he discovered that the blades had a bit of a give and were nestled into the protective casing so well so they were pretty useless for what he was trying to do. If he had been able to see what he was doing and apply more pressure, then it might be a different situation, but as it was, he might as well have been using a butter knife. He turned around again, looking down at the things that had fallen out of the small bag, hoping for a pair of scissors, but no. There was deodorant, a comb, a brush, some half empty blister packs of what seemed to be common headache, allergy and indigestion pills, something most people would have with them. There was also toothpaste, band aids, floss, a pair of tweezers, a small bottle of some kind of aftershave and something Robin thought was a battery powered nose hair trimmer. Nothing much helpful. Could he break the plastic casing around the razor, he wondered… if he could get one of the blades lose, he could possibly use that. But the blades weren't very wide and the razor as a whole looked pretty sturdy. The next moment he grinned, however, because he had finally noticed something he should have discovered at once; the aftershave bottle was made of glass.

It took him some time to break it as he was afraid it would fall out of range if he just dropped it, but in the end, thanks to the floor being tiles, he did. Now for the tricky part.

He searched the floor for the largest shard of glass, hissing as his questing fingers came in contact with small, sharp pieces. Once he finally found a usable piece, all it took was time, patience, and a few more cuts. Despite the gag, Robin wanted to whoop in joy when his bonds finally broke but it turned into a grunt of pain instead as his arms finally moved from the position they had been stuck in for so long. He got rid of the gag, gritted his teeth, and forced his bloodstained and aching fingers to work on his bound feet. After that, he ran.

He didn't know how long he had been out, but he knew he was much too late to help Slade at this point. It didn't matter, though, because he still had to try. The cabin doors were sturdy, but the teen had all that was needed: speed, determination, and technique. He practically exploded through the door, not caring if anyone was around. The first thing he saw was Slade, slumped against the far wall, his chest and stomach covered in blood. The man wasn't dead, though, as he was currently glaring at him and speaking.

"Idiot." The sound, or grunt, was harsh and seemed to be spoken with some difficulty.

Robin saw the movement to his side in time this time and kicked out, the gun flying from his attacker's hand. It was Carl, and he didn't look happy. Victor was off to the side, cradling a newly bandaged arm.

The teen didn't quite know what to do but ducked out of the man's reach while trying to keep an eye out for more weapons.

"Listen, Slade, the CIA are the Russians!" Robin let the man know.

"Figured," the man grunted again. One who seemed surprised, however, was Carl, who stopped his assault on the teen.

"Wait, what?" the 'German' said.

"It's complicated-" Robin began.

"Novitjok?"

"Okay, maybe not that complicated," the teen amended.

"I tried to tell you," Slade let them know, still on the floor, and still seemingly having more blood outside his body than a human adult really should.

"Like you could be trusted," Victor snorted.

"But Robin can? You know we are on the same team, right?"

"Actually, we weren't sure," Carl admitted. "We thought you had him fooled. Or the other way around. There was a bet." He had stood back, but Robin was still on the alert.

"Who are you?" he growled. "And Slade? Are you ok?"

The man grunted and slowly got up. "I was biding my time, letting the healing factor kick in," he admitted. "I'll be ok."

"Good," Robin risked giving the man a quick smile and then his focus was back on the pair. "So? Care to answer?"

Victor and Carl looked at each other.

"MI5," Carl said with a shrug.

"BND," Victor admitted.

"Wait, what?" it was Robin's turn to say. "British and German security service, working together?"

"This is big," the older of the two said.

"I _thought_ you were a bit of an odd couple," the teen admitted and got laughs back.

"We _are_ a couple," Victor said. "Very inofficially."

"When I told you Victor and I mainly take vacations together that was true. This time we just happened to be working."

Then new chaos broke out in the cabin as more people suddenly forced themselves through the door which was now only barely hanging on anymore. Slade grabbed Robin and pushed the teen behind himself as the new arrivals shouted out.

"Everyone keep still! Hands where we can see them!" Two pair of light blue eyes were watching them coldly behind raised guns.

"Oh, no, the bloody Swedes," Victor groaned. "Listen, MI5, BND, we have ID Codes and clearance."

"And you?" one of the Swedes asked, attention on Robin and Slade instead.

"We represent private interests," Slade said before Robin could open his mouth, but the teen followed up quickly with;

"We're on your side, though! The CIA are the Russians," he repeated, hoping for the same effect. He got it. Mostly.

"We suspected as much," the other Swede said. Robin really hated that he had trouble telling them apart.

"Wait… and you are, then?" the teen asked and got a look like he was a bit slow back.

"Säpo," he was told.

"Of course," he muttered.

"Where are the Russians now?" Slade, who seemed to be just slightly more goal oriented than the agents, asked.

"Out on the island. They are coming back in just a few hours, they said, maybe sooner."

"How long ago was this?"

"Maybe… half an hour?" the teen guessed.

"Alright, that should give us a little bit of time, at least," Slade muttered. "You four, make sure you check each other's ID-numbers or whatever you have to do before you can relax, I've been shot enough times today. We need to see about fixing the door and I would like to change into a new shirt once I stop oozing."

"How are you even alive?" one of the Swedes asked, and Robin loved him for the faint trace of actual worry in his voice.

"All the bullets just grazed me," the man deadpanned, though it was obvious just one of them would normally have been deadly. "Get on with it. Now."

The men seemed to decided that the alpha male had spoken and started to compare notes. "You're not confirming our ID's?" Victor asked Slade as they were finishing up.

"Honestly I don't care," the man let him know.

"We should contact our… employer," Robin whispered to him.

"My phone didn't survive the bullets that went through it," the man admitted.

"Mine is gone," the hero just realized. "The CIA must have taken it off me."

"Must have?"

"They knocked me out. Tell you more later."

"Is that why your hands are cut?" the man wanted to know, and then turned to the others.

"I'm going to patch Robin up and change. You tidy up and fix the door, like I said. Make sure there's nothing obviously wrong going on. Carl, someone needs to make sure the CIA don't come back early."

"How's your arm?" Robin asked Victor.

"Only a scratch. An actual one," he said and gave Slade a look. Robin didn't have time to figure out exactly what had happened in the cabin but figured that he would later. It wasn't important right now, anyway.

"Only shallow cuts, you're lucky," Slade told him a few minutes later in their own cabin. Robin had just washed his hands carefully and the man was helping him apply disinfectant and bandages. He nodded and gingerly moved his fingers as Slade shrugged out of his bloody and torn shirt. The teen looked up and gasped.

"Holy shit!"

"It looks worse than it is," Slade dismissed it and chucked his shorts off as well. "I need to rinse off the blood and change, though, or it will draw attention."

"Are… are you sure you're… water proof?"

"We'll have to see," the man chuckled and stepped into the spray.

"I'm going back to the Germans- um… germ-brits? Ah, fuck it, I'm going back there, anyway, to see if I can help with anything."

"You'll stay right here," Slade told him firmly. "Well, in the cabin, anyway, I'm not ordering you to watch me shower."

"But-"

"I you leave now you risk running into the CIA."

"You mean the Russians?"

"You know who I mean," the man grunted. "Use your laptop, contact the bat. But if he get's the idea of sending in some kind of cavalry, then for the love of god, stop him. Too many are already involved."

Robin nodded and with one last worried glance at Slade's wounded torso he left the bathroom. "Let me know if you need any help," he called as he grabbed his computer.

He quickly filled Bruce in.

"Your phone is still in their cabin, at least the tracker claims so," the man said.

"Pity, if they had brought it, we would have known where they are," the teen sighed.

"I'm searching for any available camera I can find on the island and especially near the ship…" the man told him. "Not much luck, though. The camera security isn't as big here as in Gotham."

"Duh," Robin snorted. "Slade has told me to sit tight for now, what do you think?"

"That he's right. You take a back seat from now on, Robin. Let him handle this."

"He's already severely injured," the teen let him know.

"Well, the important thing is that the men are caught, maybe the agents are enough to-"

"No," Slade told them from the bathroom door. He was only wearing a towel and Robin winced at the angry read splotches that was newly healed skin.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Getting better by the minute. But the agents will not take it from here. The Russians are dangerous and might still have more nerve poison, I am the best bet."

Robin smirked. "How gallant and heroic of you," he said.

"It's gallant and heroic to consider others incompetent idiots? Well, then, where's my cape?" the man smirked back. "We need to go take control of the agents now, convince them to see things our way." The man had dug out another cellphone from his belongings and was putting the sim card from his old one, which luckily had survived, into it as they were speaking.

"Your way," Robin muttered.

"The right way," Slade clarified with another smirk, looking up from his fiddly task.

"Bruce, ask Alfred to bake me a big batch of chocolate chip cookies, because I will need that when this is over. As compensation," the teen sighed.

"The agents are good for one thing," the Dark Knight answered, clearly ignoring the teen's request. "They can take official credit and take care of the aftermath, so to speak. Just make sure they agree to make that a joint effort and step back once the Russians are caught."

"Will do," Slade agreed to easily. "We'd better go."

"Be careful."

"We will," Slade answered.

"I was talking to Robin."

"Hurtful," Slade chuckled. "I'll be needing some of those cookies too."

Back in the 'German's' cabin they had a war council which Slade led with that natural ability he had to just boss everyone around. Robin was fascinated, watching it. It annoyed him that he wouldn't have close to that authority even if the whole Justice League was backing him up. The Swedes had dared questioned their involvement, though, and Slade had just looked at them.

"Is Klas Friberg still the boss of you guys?"

They nodded. "Call him. When he was new, back in February, our paths crossed. Tell him codename Deathstroke wants that favor in Egypt returned."

The Swedes had hesitated but made the call and from then on, they were fully on board too. The others had either already made similar calls of their own, already knew or, less likely, didn't care.

They were all there because they had made sure the camera-feeds they all had been both using and abusing were working and one of the Swedes kept a constant eye on them. If the Russians returned early, they would get a warning.

The teen had melted a bit into the background, something he both resented and preferred at the same time. Watching Slade like this, from a bit of a distance, made him a bit… bothered. In a good way. Which of course annoyed him, but it just couldn't be helped at the moment. He knew he was a natural leader as well, but here he had to admit that he was a boy among men. These agents represented nations, you couldn't just barge in and start throwing bird-a-rangs around… whatever happened here could have far reaching political consequences after all, not to speak of personal ones if any of them got hurt. He couldn't even try to be in charge here, not did he really want the responsibility. Slade seemed to have no problem with it, but that wasn't exactly surprising, considering the man most likely wouldn't give a damn about any consequences unless they affected him and _possibly_ Robin. So, the teen listened and learned instead.

"I alone will wait for them in their cabin," Slade had just decided. "I'm the only one that can survive the poison if they should have any on them."

"But there's two of them, you need backup," Carl claimed.

"The more people in a limited space, the bigger risk of a mishap," the mercenary said and shook his head. No one could really argue with him on that point. "I need you waiting outside, blocking all exit points. Robin, you need to stay here until the Russians are either taken care of or fleeing. They can't see you before."

"Of course," the teen nodded.

"You should stay here anyway, kid, it's not safe for you, even though you can fight," Victor said.

"He can take down any of you one handed," Slade snorted and at that instant Robin's chest exploded with pride almost painfully. "I'm training him on his father's request," the man added as a sort of cover.

"Dad of the year," the brit muttered. "How old are you actually? From what we've seen you do-"

"Maybe morals, no matter how noble, isn't what we need to discuss right now," Slade snorted.

"Just turned twenty-one, just like my ID says," Robin lied. "It's not my fault I'm short and cute," he added a bit sulkily, which made the other men chuckle a bit.

"Alright then." Victor didn't seem like he was completely buying the story and Slade picked up on it.

"No more questions about him and leave him out of the reports and you'll get a one-time number you can call. Any time. Trust me, it's a good deal."

The men looked at each other and then all nodded.

"Thanks," Robin mumbled to the room in general.

"You owe me," Slade told him and didn't seem like he was joking that much. "And I will check those reports."

"But how would you-" Victor began and then stopped himself, sighed and shrugged. "Of course you will."

Robin ginned a little then, putting the worry about what _exactly_ he owed Slade behind him.

"Get into position," the mercenary ordered. "Robin, was the bathroom door closed?"

"Yes, and the light was on. Watch out for the glass in there, though," the teen warned him.

"I will. Stay here until it's safe or you're needed. Does everyone's headphones work?"

They had made sure they could stay in constant contact with each other, and were now taking up their positions to wait. The Swedes were covering the entrance hall, and that took two people just in case there was a crowd. Victor and Carl were hidden in the hallways close to the Russian's cabin, were Slade would be waiting to take them down. Robin's assignment was to watch all the camera feeds on three different computer screens to make sure the men didn't slip by the Swedes.

"I'm in position," Slade's voice told them a few minutes later.

"Good luck. Don't get more hurt," Robin told him back.

"No flirting," one of the Swedes joked, making the teen snort.

Then they all settled down, in a way, to wait. And wait. And wait...

"I have to go to the bathroom, I'm sorry but I really have to," Robin said after a little over an hour.

"Don't worry, we're ready, and we'll cover each other," Carl answered.

"Thank god, I get to go after you," Victor said, making Robin feel a bit better about himself.

"Guess my position is very strategic in that regard," Slade said dryly, getting groans in reply.

Robin hurried and then Victor came back for his bathroom break while the teen was keeping an extra sharp eye out.

Robin called out just a moment before one of the Swedes.

"Spotted, they are heading for the elevators!" the Swedes reported.

"Victor, stay where you are, you risk running into them otherwise," Carl said.

"Roger that," Victor said, still inside the bathroom. He soon joined Robin in front of the computers. An elevator had never moved slower in history, but soon the men were up on their floor, which Robin quietly reported. They went inside their cabin and the teen realized he was balling his fists up so hard that his nails were digging into his skin. The seconds ticked by then then suddenly there was a commotion coming through the headset. A shout cut short and then another one. Then all silence again.

"Slade?" Robin called out softly but worriedly.

"It's done," the man said.

The teen threw off his headset and then dashed down the hallway, getting there at the same time as Carl, and just as Slade opened the door.

"Do you need any help tying them up?" the teen grinned and looked inside the room before Slade had time to block his view. His grin slipped.

 _To be Continued…_

A/N: short chapter, but it was a good place to quit. Huh? What do you mean, it wasn't? No idea what you are on about…

When I thought up the bathroom scene, I was sure the bathroom floor would be plastic carpet of some sort, so I went back to the "digital tour" of the suites available on the ship I'm basing this on and lo and behold: tiles. Imagine how effing much that would both cost and weigh… now, I don't know if ALL rooms have tiled bathrooms but I wouldn't be surprised if they do… that's 1,780 tiled bathrooms for just the guests… how DO these ships float?! 😉


	9. Chapter 9: Set a course for adventure

A/N: And here the story continues, hope you enjoy! Please leave a review, it's and easy way from me to see if anyone is reading.

 **Chapter 9: Set a course for adventure**

The men were on the floor and their necks were at a very odd and disturbing angle.

"Wh-what…. You…?" the teen stammered.

Victor, who had caught up and the two other men, didn't look surprised at all.

"You handle this from now on," Slade told them and got nods in return. "I have to have a little chat with my partner here."

"You _killed_ -" Robin hissed but had his mouth covered and then he was quickly dragged away to their own suite. "You killed them!?" he yelled when he was finally able and allowed to speak again.

"Keep your voice down, there might be people around," Slade told him.

"I'm calling Bruce!" Robin hissed.

"Sure, here's your phone, I found it in their cabin." The man shrugged and handed it over. Robin looked at him like he wondered if this was some sort of trap before making the call.

The result wasn't exactly what he had hoped for, however. Robin had decided he wanted a face-to-face call and on a bigger screen so he had called the man up from the computer, and Bruce looked grim but accepted the outcome with a short nod.

"You're not going to say anything? They are dead!" the teen scolded his mentor.

"It would have been preferable if the authorities had been able to question them," Bruce said, "but-"

"There would have been a great risk of Russia pulling a few strings and either getting them back or killing them before anyone could gather any information anyway," Slade pointed out, sitting down on the sofa and relaxing like all was right in the world. "Besides, both Germany and Britain had the same orders."

"And you?" Robin muttered, pacing the room.

"I did what my client paid me to do. I have a feeling Bruce suspected."

"They wouldn't hire an assassin to slap someone's wrist," the man shrugged.

"Ok, so everyone knew this was an assassination mission apart from me. Great," the young hero growled.

"I didn't know for sure," Bruce defended himself, "I would have preferred if it had played out differently, but I _did_ tell you from the beginning that the men needed to be stopped with any means necessary."

"And I guess that means that when Slade claimed that his mission wouldn't 'affect our case', he was telling the truth too? In a roundabout way?"

"Is there any other way to handle the truth?" Slade chuckled.

"I guess he was," Bruce shrugged. "And now? Are the others taking care of it?"

"Yes. The bodies will be taken away in a fake ambulance helicopter, acute allergic reactions to something they ate ashore," Slade told them.

"And what about us? Do we go home now?" the teen wanted to know.

"Not unless you feel you absolutely need to," Bruce said. "I understand if it has been a bit much for you, but the agents are also staying, I assume, as to not arouse suspicion?"

"Correct," Slade nodded.

"Two more full days at sea with a bunch of murderers," Robin muttered.

"Aren't you a lucky boy?" Slade purred and the teen couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from twitching.

"At least you will arrive back in Fort Lauderdale at seven AM on the third?" his mentor pointed out.

"So two days with murderers and then I'll _have to get up early_?" the teen whined.

"I see that you're not under any real distress," Batman said dryly. "Why don't you see this as a real vacation, then? From now on you can do whatever you want. And you have helped saved the lives of plenty of potential victims, Robin. Joking aside, these men really needed to be stopped. The agents will comb through everything and build a solid case. What that will lead to we don't know yet, but you did good."

"No kudos for me?" Slade drawled from the couch,

"You couldn't have done it without Robin, and you know it," the Dark Knight snorted, making the teen grin happily.

"Might be true," Slade admitted and Robin's grin widened. "Nice doing business with you, I expect the rest of my money in my account within an hour."

"It will be there."

"Call me if your ward needs a date again."

"Possibly not." Bruce actually smirked a little and ended the call.

Robin felt a bit awkward now and glanced over at the man, almost shyly. Slade, of course, seemed completely unaffected by everything and was checking something on his phone. At that point Robin's stomach grumbled.

"Hungry?" the man looked up.

"Um… yeah… a bit." Lunch had come and gone as it was now late afternoon and that early breakfast seemed years ago.

"Then let's go get something to eat," the man decided and stood up.

"Um… I… I think we should shower and change first."

"I just showered after I was shot," Slade pointed out.

"Yes, but then you… well… _killed_ people."

"I snapped their necks, they didn't bleed on me." The man obviously didn't see Robin's point but after looking into the teen's eyes, he yielded. "Alright. Would you like to go first?"

The teen nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. The shower felt nice, cleansing in several ways, and the young hero felt better about it all when he was done. He still sent Slade into the shower as well, though. He'd never admit it, but he was rather put off by the thought of the man's hands touching him after killing two men. Slade would just laugh at him if he said anything, but the guy needed to shower it off. About the murders themselves and Slade's part of it, the shock had started to fade a bit. Slade had always been an assassin, and he logically understood that the man hadn't really betrayed him. What remained was a slight feeling of estrangement, but Robin had already made a choice: he'd get over it. It might be morally wrong, somehow, not to hate the man or whatever, but after seeing what these men could do, after hearing what they had planned for him… Robin just couldn't muster the energy to be outraged about it all.

They chose the pizza place again, and when they reached it, people, who had started to come aboard again after a day at shore, were buzzing with gossip about an ambulance helicopter landing on the roof and flying off again with two passengers. The ship would leave at six, in just under an hour, and most people were back on board.

"It feels so strange, what do we even _do_ now?" Robin asked quietly after they had gotten their pizzas and found a table a bit away from the others.

"Fuck?" Slade suggested, making the teen choke.

"I… I… we… I…" he babbled.

"Look," the man said patently. "The only thing that has changed is that work is over. No more studying people, no more cell phone hunting, no more worries. We have some down time, we should enjoy it. Unless-" for once the man actually stopped himself and seemed to hesitate.

"Unless…?" the teen prompted.

"Unless actually seeing the result of my job… completely changed how you view me."

"It… it wasn't… pretty," the young hero admitted. "I mean, I already knew who you are, of course, but it became very… real."

"I understand. Trust me, I'm not going to tell you that you are silly. I've been through wars, and from talk and training to action… it broke many, that first time."

"But not you?"

"Damn close."

Robin smiled fondly at the man and reached over the table to grab his hand. Slade looked a bit amused at this, but let him. "Thank you," the teen said softly. "For being honest. For understanding."

"Well, I basically just hope I still turn you on," Slade shrugged with a teasing grin.

The hero snorted, let the man's hand go and flicked a piece of mushroom at him.

"Might have deserved that," the mercenary admitted.

"A bit," Robin grinned back. "Now, why don't you take me to a movie?"

"I'd be delighted," the man chuckled.

The movie was a romantic comedy which was so stupid and predicable that Robin would have left if he hadn't been busy making out with a certain mercenary.

"Not a very good movie," he commented, in a surprisingly happy tone, as they left.

"What movie? It started?" Slade joked. "Can we go back to the cabin now?"

"We're on vacation! Come on, let's enjoy ourselves!" the teen objected and dragged him along.

"That's what I was aiming for," the man sighed.

Robin led them to Club Fusion on the promenade deck where he got them drinks.

"Alcohol? You sure?" the man asked.

"I'm off the clock," the teen grinned. "Besides, I'll be careful."

"I won't carry you home," Slade muttered.

"Yes, you will," Robin corrected him.

"Yes, I will," Slade sighed. "Let's go somewhere where we can hear ourselves think, at least?"

"No, I want to dance!" the teen said to the man's obvious horror.

"I refuse," Slade yelled, he had to, because somehow, they were already on the dancefloor.

"Alright, then I'll just use you as a pole," the teen yelled back, laughing. The young hero really did his best dancing 'at' Slade. Others danced all around, and as soon as Robin left the man's side he was surrounded by men and women who all seemed to want a piece of him. Slade wouldn't allow any such foolishness for long and simply dragged the boy back towards him. Robin encouraged such possessives by grinding against the man, who rolled his single eye.

"Why are we doing this standing up when we could be doing it lying down?" he shouted in the teen's ear.

Robin snorted and finally gave up on trying to get the man to 'let lose'. Instead they went to the casino, had a few more drinks and gambled away some of their spending money.

When they returned to the cabin very late that night Robin was happy and not too drunk. Just slightly buzzy. They had had another meal, pasta this time, and now they were both ready for bed. Well. Sex.

"I have a question," Slade said as he undressed the young man.

"Mm?" Robin asked, fiddling with the man's shirt buttons.

"When all this began, before I broke into the conversation, I overheard you telling Bruce that you were bi. I've watched you, especially tonight when that woman on the dancefloor practically pushed her boobs in your face… you're not bi, are you?"

"Not even a little," Robin grinned and sank to the floor in front of the man, undoing his fly. "I mean, I used to _think_ that I was, but you cured me of that silly idea," he added, "Now, teach me how to suck you off correctly?"

Slade was very happy to.

The next morning Robin woke up naked with his head on the chest of an equally naked Slade. He was in a very good mood indeed, which only dimmed slightly when he realized that he had been woken up by low voices, one of the from the man he was sleeping on. With his eyes still closed, he slid his hand up the man's chest and jaw, to put a finger over the man's lips.

"Shhh… sleeping…" Robin muttered. He felt his finger being kissed and giggled.

"Did we wake you?" Slade asked.

"Mmm… who's 'we'?" Robin wanted to know and finally forced his eyes open. "Oh. Shit," he added when he realized that Slade was holding his phone up, and on the screen, Bruce was looking pointedly at him.

"Bruce called," Slade let him know. "Videocall," he added unnecessarily.

"And you decided to just answer, then?" the teen asked dryly.

"I didn't want to disturb you," the man defended himself.

The teen then chuckled and, met Bruce's eyes and patted Slade's chest. "I think this guy likes me."

"And here I thought he was trying to give me an aneurysm," Bruce deadpanned.

"Nah, if he wanted to screw with you, he would have just kept hinting, kept you guessing, driving you crazy. And I know for damn sure he doesn't want to make _me_ angry with two days still on board together, so that just leaves one thing. He wants your blessing, in a way."

"It might just mean I need your advice when it comes to giving the Bat hell…" Slade muttered. Robin grinned up at him and the man smirked back.

"Shall I ask Alfred to arrange for an engagement party, then? He'd be delighted," Batman said, making both Robin and Slade tense up.

"No!" the young hero hurriedly said. "I… I don't think that's… necessary."

"Robin's already as honest a man as I can stand him," Slade claimed with a chuckle.

"I guess I have to leave this for you two to figure out," Bruce sighed. "Robin, I'm here if you need me. Slade, I'm here if Robin needs me. And I'm only putting the peeling idea on ice for now."

"Understood," the man nodded and actually sounded serious.

Robin just chuckled and bid his mentor goodbye before he hung up.

"That was a risky move," he told Slade as the man put his phone down.

"I know."

"Why did you do it? Really?" he asked curiously.

"Because I knew the Bat would be an obstacle and I didn't want you to obsess about it, or feel guilty that you were keeping secrets from him."

"Don't tell me you called the Titans too?"

"Oh, I just send them a little video from last night."

"Tell me you're kidding right now or I'll jump overboard," Robin growled, feeling better when the man smirked.

"Breakfast?" Slade suggested.

"No, no, no, we need to talk about this," Robin insisted. "So where do you see this thing going? Are you leaving Jump? Retiring? Are we in a relationship? Will you join us instead? Are we going to live tog- Slade, what are you doing?!" he squawked as the man lifted him clear off the bed.

"Taking you to the shower, so we can go get breakfast."

"Well, fine, but don't think that we're done discussing this," the teen muttered as he was sat down on the bathroom tiles.

"Yes, dear," the mercenary said in a mockingly sweet voice as he shoved the teen under the still cold spray of water.

Robin was pondering whether or not he would dare trying the sausages at the breakfast buffet when he, deciding to skip them, took a step to the left and bumped into someone.

"Oh, sor- sorry," he said, his voice not quite up to the task as he realized that it was Carl. "Um… hi."

"Morning, seems like we're having some extraordinary lovely weather today," the man smiled like he hadn't just been part of an international assassination mission.

"Yes… yes, it will most likely be a pool day," Robin nodded, trying desperately to have his voice sound natural.

"I'll see you there, perhaps," Carl let him know with another smile, and passed by him, to fill up on those sausages.

Robin got some scrambled eggs and bacon as he was really hungry and felt more like brunch and then scurried off to where Slade was already seated.

"I met Carl," the teen whispered.

"Imagine that," Slade chuckled, looking at his phone. When Robin didn't react, the man looked up and then sighed. "You _knew_ they are all still onboard."

"Yes, but it felt… I didn't know what to say,"

"Just keep acting friendly, we don't want to cause any suspicion," Slade shrugged.

"Ok, sure… wanna go relax at the pool later?"

"I could do with a good swim. Too much bacon," Slade nodded and stole a piece off the teen's plate.

"Yes, and that's so strange, as you never get any for yourself," Robin drawled.

When the teen realized that they could actually have a day at the pool, for real, without spying on people or wondering what their next step should be he became almost euphoric and ran off to one of the stores to pick up a few paperback novels. He then parked himself in the shade, sprawled on a surprisingly comfy sun chair and dived into a sordid historical story young nobleman forced to marry a rich powerful man against his will. He was so glad this ship had a huge selection of gay-almost-erotica-novels.

Slade, in the meanwhile was swimming against one of the jet streams in the pool and, by the looks of it, almost winning too.

"Good book?"

Robin looked up and saw Carl standing there in a pair of long trunks in a loud Hawaiian pattern.

"Yeah, it's alright," the teen smiled dutifully. "Have you and Victor decided on a swim too?"

"Victor's at the spa at the moment, getting a back massage. A real one," the 'German', or rather Brit, said.

"I really hope Slade's… umm… skills, didn't do any damage," the teen said apologetically.

"I don't think so, he actually raved about them afterwards, so if he's ever looking for another career…"

Robin burst out laughing. "Yeah, I'll… let him know. So… is everything… taken care of?"

"All is in hand. It might blow up in our face later, but we're all keeping a tight lid on things for now."

"They had good covers," the young hero said thoughtfully. "No accents and if their CIA ID's could fool Slade..."

"The CIA-thing was real."

"What? But…?"

"They were both recruited by the Russians back in high school. They both had Russian relatives and had a fair grasp of the language, and they were groomed into distrusting the U.S and turning their allegiance towards the 'mother country'. At the same time, they were encouraged to study and train and then start on their road to high positions within the intelligence service. They were here to try to stop themselves."

"Oh. Wow. That's a long game."

"The Russians are good at those. We are sure there are many more like them, in place since before the cold war, for generations."

"That's a scary thought." The teen shivered.

"Very," Carl nodded. "We found something interesting in their cabin, though… although… no, forget about it. I'm breaking laws just mentioning it. Let's just say we have some leads."

"But we can help!" Robin offered. "Please, we have connections you can only dream of, and this is about the stability and security of the whole world, after all!"

"Alright… you can take a look, but no more," the man said and stood up.

Robin glanced over at Slade, but the man was still burning off that bacon, so he put his book down and followed the man back to his cabin.

The inside now looked a bit like the Titan's own case room, with folders and papers strewn everywhere, evidence waiting to be tagged and organized.

"Wow, do you have their whole cabin in here?" the teen asked,

"The Swedes have half of it too," the British agent chuckled. "Let's see… yes, here it is. A notebook. We think these codes refer to people, other agents, but we're not sure. Slade, in particular, might be able to help."

"Can I take photos of it?" Robin asked.

"Yes. But please… this is something I might go to jail for, so consider this a huge favor," the man told him grimly.

"Of course. I won't tell anyone apart from Slade," Robin promised and withdrew his phone. That was a lie as he would let Bruce too, but he didn't think that would be that much of a betrayal. He started painstakingly photographing the pages while the man was overseeing it all. Robin got caught up in the work and it was only when he was on the last couple of pages that he noticed that Carl had gotten uncomfortable close, standing behind him.

"So, yeah, um, all done," Robin said as he snapped a photo of the last page that had any writing on it. He tried to straighten up and step away from the desk, but the man behind him wouldn't budge.

"Sooo… now it's all about paying me back, then?" Carl's husky voice said in his ear.

"I... what-" Robin started. His thumb was dancing over his phone, trying to send a message to Slade. He had just written 'Car' when the agent snatched his phone away. He just had time to press send.

"Let's take this and let's get a bit more… relaxed, shall we?" he said and as Robin turned, he felt a pin prick in his arm. His world almost instantly started to spin, and he couldn't fight it as the man led him towards the bed.

"Slade…" he mumbled.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind trading a little time for you for the information you just got," Carl chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. We're just going to have a bit of a nice time."

"But… Victor…?" the teen tried the other angle.

"He's getting a bit… old," the agent said. "You should have seen him when we first met, barely dry behind the ears." The man laid down next to the teen, pressing against him, clearly in no real hurry. "So how old are you then? Really? You can tell me, you know… be honest. You're still a teen, aren't you? Are you even eighteen?"

Robin felt bile rise in his throat. It wasn't only that the forty-something man with the thinning hair and wandering hands revolted him physically, but his focus on his age was the real turn off. Slade had never shown any sign that it was the teen's youth he desired.

Whatever he had gotten was making his arms and legs very heavy, but he was still fully awake, and the man was now getting bolder. Soon his hand was massaging the front of Robin's shorts and the teen desperately tried not to get an automatic reaction from it. His shirt was then removed and the man proceeded to lick and suck on his nipples, while cooing and whispering everything from sweet, affectionate words to very rude descriptions of what he planned to do to him.

"Stop… stop!" Robin tried, his voice as weak as the rest of him. He felt very confused and Slade's face seemed to flicker in and out of his vision, temporarily replacing the agent's, making it hard to understand what was going on and who was doing this to him. His shorts were lowered and a wet heat engulfed his member, forcing life into it.

"You like this… you like this a lot," the man grinned at him and- suddenly he was gone. Robin blinked. The man had been there, hovering over him one moment and then seemed to have vanished. How-

"Robin? Robin, can you hear me?" Slade was standing over him, a furious and worried expression on his face.

"M-m…" the teen confirmed. "I… what happened…? Where… where is…?"

"He went flying. Hit the wall," Slade told him. "Let's get you out of here." The man swiftly dressed him again and just as he finished up Robin heard a groan from across the room.

"He… he wanted it," Carl claimed weakly.

"He did not," Slade growled. "And you have him to thank for still being alive. Only because I think he would be somewhat upset with me." The man glanced down at the teen who was now in his arms, and Robin gave him a weak smile. "But don't think this will be all, agent. You'll regret this for the rest of your life."

With that Slade was ready to leave, but at that moment Victor walked in. The German took one look at the room, paled and then turned eyes full of cold fury on his so-called partner.

"You bastard," he hissed, turned on his heel and left.

"There. You're safe now," Slade told Robin as he put him down on their bed. "Did he hurt you? Did he do anything?"

"Not… enough time…" Robin mumbled. "He… drugged me."

"I can sort of tell you're not your normal, spry, quick witted self," the man drawled. "I'm afraid you just have to wait for it to wear off. As I don't know what he gave you there's no way I can find anything to counter the effects."

"Mm," was the teen's only reply.

"Do you need anything?" the man asked.

"No… just… you?" Robin reached out and Slade got on to the bed with him. Robin wound an arm around the man and was out like a light.

"Ok, time to wake up, you're drooling on me."

Robin smacked his lips and realized the man was probably right. He slowly sat up.

"How do you feel?" Slade asked.

"Still a bit groggy. And like a bit… hung over."

"Let's order some room service and get you something to eat. What do you want?"

"For some reason I want a burger and fries… and a big coke. Like really bad."

The man chuckled and phoned in the order, asking them to rush it if possible. It apparently _was_ possible, because twenty minutes later there was a knock on the door and Slade retrieved a wonderfully smelling trolley. After eating, Robin felt much better and now had enough energy to get angry.

"I'm going to fucking kill the creep!" he snarled. He had filled Slade in on what he had been told by the agent and shared the photos of the notebook with him.

"I am very willing to assist you if you're serious," Slade told him.

The teen sighed. "I hate him, but no… not literally kill. I just… Just…"

"I know. And he won't have an easy life from now on. Trust me."

"You know what? Old me might have asked you to leave him alone, but new me is just gonna tell you to have fun," the teen muttered.

"I like new you."

"And all it took was two hits on the head, three threats of rape -including the one from you-, one drugging and a lot of fucking," Robin drawled.

"If I had only known that before…" Slade sighed wistfully, making the young man burst out laughing.

"What time is it? I wanted a day by the pool," the teen then said.

"It's only lunch, let's get you back out there," the man decided and so, after Robin had a quick rinse off, they went.

The afternoon was all the teen could hope for. He didn't find himself too bothered with the rape attempt now, mainly because the man hadn't gotten very far and maybe also because, in his line of work, he needed to be able to shrug off little annoying things like near death experiences. Sure, this was different to almost being crushed by a giant concrete fist, but it was the same principle. Despite all this, he still kept close to Slade, and just happened to feel like a swim or a drink when the man went into the pool or to the bar. Coincidences.

Maybe there was still some thoughts of revenge in Robin's mind, because once they left the pool area, as the sun was starting to set, his body was itching in a very familiar way.

"I need to hit something," he told the man. "Well," he amended, "I need a good work out."

"Let's check out the gym before dinner, then," Slade suggested, and so they did. The gym and spa were in the same area on deck sixteen, the sun deck, not deck seventeen, which was called the sports deck, funnily enough. At the gym they ran into the Swedes.

"We heard," one of them mumbled. "Victor came over, he's staying with us for the rest of the trip. Are you ok?" blond number one asked.

"Yeah," Robin nodded. "Nothing to worry about, the creep didn't get far."

"We assume you don't want this public in any way?" they were asked by blond number two.

"Absolutely not," Slade answered as Robin shook his head.

"Alright, we'll keep it off the record," blond one nodded and smiled kindly.

"Thanks," Robin smiled back.

Blond two cleared his throat. "We gotta say… you were pretty high on our suspects-list from the beginning, but even though you were an odd couple… there was something…" he looked over to his partner for help.

"-Genuine about you," said blond number one and the other one nodded.

"We had written you off until Robin seemed stressed about where Victor and Carl was."

"Sorry… I lost my cool there," the teen mumbled, glancing at Slade.

"You probably handled it better than I would have," the man shrugged.

"Anyway…" the first Swede said, hoisting his gym bag up on his shoulder. "We're done here. Enjoy your work out."

"Thanks, we will," Robin grinned and waved them off.

One hour later he was sweaty but happy.

"Pretty much like after sex," he pointed out to Slade.

"I'm not sure working out is quite as much fun," the man leered.

"You wouldn't be able to tell from your grunting, it's pretty much the same," the teen snickered and ran out of the man's grasp. It turned into a hunt back to their room and the bathroom, where Slade caught up with him, possibly having held back just enough to make it fun. Robin almost shrieked with laughter as he was stripped and pushed into the shower, with Slade following closely behind. They both only used their hands and mouths, but as he was still on the high of working out Robin thought it was one of the best climaxes he had ever had, information he was very willing to share with Slade, who just chuckled and agreed.

"What do you want for dinner?" the man asked him as they were drying off.

"Well, after working out I feel like something healthy? How about that sea food restaurant? We haven't been there?"

"You only want to feed me oysters and take advantage of me," the mercenary sighed.

"It depends?"

"On what?"

"On if that stuff really works," Robin grinned.

The restaurant was lovely and it was late when they headed home. The air was unusually chilly and not many people were outside, so it surprised the teen when the man told him to change into trunks.

"We're going swimming?" Robin asked.

"You'll see," Slade smirked at him and, grabbing a couple of towels, led him to the pool area. Robin hadn't actually realized before, but at the end of the pool was two hot tubs and they were now slightly steaming in the cool air.

"I thought it might make up a little bit for not being able to spend all day at the pool," the man told him, and soon Robin was making very contented sighs from the heat as he looked up at the night sky.

"This is pretty."

"If you like this, then come with me to my hunting lodge in the winter. I have a wooden outside hot tub, heated by a stove. Sitting there with snow all around and the stars above… well, it needs to be experienced."

"So, what you're saying is that we have at least one date?" Robin asked innocently and laughed at the man's glare. "I'd love to come," he said softly and snuggled closer. They kissed. One of those slow, romantic kisses they had shared in front of the passengers before, but now there was no cause to act, no audience around.

Robin's fingers played over the man's chest and come to rest above a smooth patch of skin, the only visible remains of the man's recent wounds.

"How did this happen, anyway?" he asked.

"I was an idiot," the man shrugged. "I was in the corner, on the other side of the bed. I heard the door and thought it was you, that you had forgotten to ask me something or the like, and turned around too slowly. Carl had already fired the first shot before I saw it was them."

"And Victor? His arm got hurt, right?"

"I managed to throw something at it, I think it was a shard from a vase." The man looked and sounded rather disgusted with himself.

"I'm glad you're human enough to mess up," the teen smiled warmly.

"Well, you already knew that," the mercenary shrugged

"Socially, yes. Professionally, no."

"Ah."

"Well, I guess it's my fault for being distracting," Robin grinned.

"I'm very willing to blame you."

"Thought so. Did the alarm go off, then?"

"No, that's the funny part, they actually _had_ forgotten something, or rather: Carl wanted to change weapons, and he already had his hand on his gun as they entered."

"We were extremely unlucky, then."

Slade nodded.

"Well, stop messing up like that, it's no fun," Robin told him. "According to Victor's assessment you should be a massage therapist. They don't get shot as much."

"Might consider that in my down time," Slade chuckled. "If you try not getting threatened with rape as much."

"I will honestly do my best," the teen laughed. "Although I think we both just victim blamed each other. Tell me more about that hunting lodge, do you actually use it for hunting?"

Slade painted such a great picture of his rustic hideaway that Robin wanted to go there right then and there and told the man as much.

"It would be easier than heading to Jump," the man smirked. "Less questions. More us."

"Please kidnap me?" Robin suggested.

"Tempting," the man admitted.

"We can make that a tradition… we go on with our lives as usual but once a year you kidnap me for a few weeks." Robin hesitated a bit as he thought it through. "Or once a month."

"Kidnapping you for a few weeks once a month sounds pretty permanent."

"You're just lazy," the teen grinned.

"I need time to build my massage business," the man deadpanned.

"All you care about is work, what about _us_?" Robin complained, pretending to be upset.

Slade chuckled and pulled the teen in for a kiss again. Robin then leaned back against the man and stared solemnly up at the sky again.

"One more day," he sighed. "Just one. I don't like it but I don't know how to solve it. I meant what I said the other day, Slade… I can't fight you. If you continue with crimes in Jump, either you or I have to leave."

"And how do you feel with me travelling for work?" the man asked carefully.

"Honestly, part of me wants to say that it's fine, as long as I don't know about it, but the realist in me… I mean… Superman wouldn't be able to date Lex just because Lex promised not to commit crimes in front of his nose… and-" Robin added firmly, turning towards the man again, "I know it's not fair. It's your livelihood, your image, everything."

"Would you give up yours for me?" the man asked.

"But I'm a hero? What do you mean?" the teen blinked, looking confused.

"You're constantly in mortal danger, and, no matter how good you are, you're still only human. I could lose you any day, because you literally throw yourself into danger."

"Huh…" the teen looked thoughtful and then looked up with glittering eyes. "Does your massage firm need a secretary?"

The man smirked. "Possibly. But you see the problem?"

"Yes… neither of us are happy with what the other one does for a living."

"It's not that I mind you doing what you do best, I just prefer to be at your side while you do it," the man shrugged.

Robin chuckled warmly. "Ok, so let's start our own team… with blackjack and hookers."

"Excuse me?" Slade said, looking perplexed and almost a bit worried.

"Oh, you're not much of a meme-guy are you?"

"A what guy?"

"Forget it, it's like a … internet joke. A reference to a TV show."

"Ah." The man said, most likely pretending to understand. "You don't think we will be allowed to join the JL, then?" he joked.

Robin laughed. "I have a feeling they would have issues with that, yeah."

"And what would we work with in this team of ours?"

"I don't know… pretty much what we did now? But maybe minus the killing?"

"If you're hoping to get paid, sometimes killing is part of the deal."

"…. We can have day jobs?" Robin suggested.

"A massage parlor?" Slade said dryly.

"Ok, well, then you come up with something!" the teen snorted a bit irritated at this point.

Slade raised his hands out of the water in a surrendering gesture and then placed an arm around him.

"I like your idea, I'm just thinking of the profit potential. So… not even if our own government wants the target dead?"

"Our own government?" Robin said a bit hesitantly. "There's… lots of jobs like that?"

"Plenty."

"Oh."

"And foreign countries as well, of course."

"We're not working for any potential enemies. Nothing that can harm the U.S," Robin said decisively. "And no-kill missions are to be preferred. I have the decisive vote otherwise."

"How about things like hostage situations? Or getting out of sticky situations? Are you going to tie my hands?"

The hero hesitated and then shook his head. "No. We both have to fight the way we want, or we'll be risking our lives."

"I was actually asking if there would be bondage-oof! I might have deserved that one," Slade chuckled.

"You did. And yes, I'd love to tie you up," Robin grinned.

"Likewise," the man leered and made the teen blush.

"So… we're doing this?"

"Bondage?"

"No, idiot, working together!"

"You're going to stay with the Titans," Slade said and Robin felt his heart sink a bit. "And we'll take on a mission together when something suitable pops up. I'll put some feelers out. And then we'll see."

"Oh. Oh, okay!" The teen smiled, much happier now. "Yeah, I guess it's stupid to just leave everything before we know if it will work out, right?"

"Precisely… And you need Raven, Cyborg, that annoying girl and the green kid," Slade said.

"Aaaalright, I think I can figure out who you respect of my team. Useful," Robin chuckled. "And yeah, of course I love them, but they would still be my friends, even if I left."

"I'm sure they would, but they also know what blackjack and hookers mean. Well. Maybe not the alien. And don't ask me to explain."

"Trust me, I won't." Robin laughed. "But don't worry, teen references aren't _that_ important to me. But I understand what you're saying and you might be right… I need the goofiness they offer as well as their friendship. Baby steps."

"Exactly."

Robin thought it over for a moment and then smiled. "I'm happy with that. I just don't want this to end. Which is weird… I mean, it's only been a few days, who would have thought we'd end up like this."

"From that first kiss."

"What? Really?"

"I know what I like," Slade chuckled.

"You didn't exactly… show it," Robin pointed out.

"Of course not. I didn't think we were on the same page. Or even the same library. There's no use pursuing someone like that, but I was prepared to wait."

"That's equal part romantic and creepy," Robin laughed.

"Describes me perfectly," Slade deadpanned, which made the teen laugh even more.

A little later Robin was on his back in bed, smiling up at Slade, who was showing him a new way to make love. The slow way. Really long, slow strokes made the teen's whole spine tingle and he made sounds he had never made before. The teen closed his eyes and wound his legs around the man's hips, meeting the thrusts. Any moment now he knew he would have to ask the man to go harder and faster again, before the movements became torture through sensation overdrive. But for now, he was in heaven.

 _To Be Continued… (which is a bit silly as the story might have just ended here… oh well…)_

A/N: one more chapter, I think… like I say above, it's not really necessary, but… yeah…

Has anyone sung the chapter titles yet? 😉


	10. Chapter 10: Your mind on a new romance

A/N: one more chapter, I think… like I say above, it's not really necessary, but… yeah…

Has anyone sung the chapter titles yet? 😉

A/N; last chapter, and this is very family centered… because two people don't exist isolated from the world, EVERYONE wants to get involved, apparently…

 **Chapter 10: Your mind on a new romance**

The last day on board started with a breakfast with too many choices as usual. They then decided to check out the sports courts and thirty minutes later came to the unanimous decision that tennis wasn't their sport. Shuffleboard wasn't either. Slade refused table tennis.

In the end Robin looked around, looked at the man, shrugged and suggested;

"Sex?"

"Best idea you've had all morning," Slade grinned.

They had only just reached their own hallway, however, when they ran into a very drunk Carl.

"There… there you are…" the man growled, swaying,

"Get out of our w-" Robin started, snarling, but was then pulled roughly away by Slade.

"Watch out!" the mercenary growled and then moved quicker than Robin had ever seen him. The next moment something landed on the floor and the man followed soon after, knocked out. Robin stared at the item.

"A gun," he said lamely. "I … I didn't see it."

Slade grabbed the man's arm and hoisted him up like he was supporting him.

"Take it. We're dropping this one at the Swede's."

The agents weren't home, but Slade managed to open the door anyway, dumped the man on the bed, tied him up, gagged him, and left a note. Then he disposed of the ammunition for the gun and left that behind too.

Robin peeked at the note. 'If I see him one more time onboard, he's dead.' it said. The teen quietly put the "do not disturb" sign on the door as they left.

The teen pulled out his phone when he came back and curled up in the sofa, speaking to Bruce in a low voice for almost half an hour before hanging up with a sigh.

Slade had spent the time out on the balcony to give the boy some privacy and the teen joined him there.

"How are you?" the man asked. "Something I can do?" Slade was leaning back in a deckchair, and although there was another one next to it, Robin decided to sit down on the man, stretching out on top of him.

"No… I just… Carl's supposed to be one of the good guys. Sometimes I just need to talk to Bruce about stuff like that."

"You could talk to me?" the mercenary pointed out.

"You'd call me an idiot. You already think the worst of people, so him doing something like that wouldn't have surprised you."

"Well… it didn't. Not much," Slade agreed. "And you are young. Still a bit naïve. I envy you that."

"Well, it might have gotten me killed today, I didn't even _consider_ that he might be armed, even though he was the one who shot you, so I _knew_ he had a gun."

"Next time you will."

"Yes. And part of me resents that."

"I know."

"I'm not too heavy?" the teen asked as the man shifted to put his arms around him.

"Not at all."

"Part of me resents that too," Robin admitted, chuckling dryly.

Slade joined in on the chuckle.

They stayed like that for a while. The sun was on the other side of the ship, but the shade was comfortably warm, and had it been later in the day, Robin was sure he wouldn't be able to resist a nap. Soon, however, other thoughts started to make themselves known.

"If you keep squirming like that you're going to be in trouble," Slade told him.

"Maybe I _want_ to be in trouble?" Robin grinned up at him.

"That's what I wanted to hear," the man smirked back.

"There, I think you're properly punished now," Slade let him know almost an hour later. Robin only smiled lazily up at the man, not really keen on doing much of anything, including moving.

"That… was amazing," he breathed. "I just hope no one heard us."

"We _all_ heard you," came an unknown voice from behind the balcony wall on the left, and the teen groaned. They were still outside as Slade had refused to leave in the beginning and then Robin had rather forgot why that was important.

"Yes, good audio show," another voice said, possibly from above. "Excellent quality entertainment," the voice laughed.

"Yes, well, jumping overboard seems like a great finale…" Robin muttered and slunk inside.

Slade joined him almost immediately.

"How pissed off are you?"

"A bit. You're obviously more of an exhibitionist than I am. I'm taking a shower."

He wasn't alone in the bathroom for long, though, as the man followed him in there too. "I didn't plan for people to overhear, or even to stay out there that long," Slade defended himself. "I got… distracted."

"Yeah, yeah… but don't make a habit out of it, alright?" the teen sighed.

"I shall try. No promises," the man chuckled. "Move to the side, I need to wash off too. So… where do you want to go for lunch?"

Robin laughed at the change of subject. "You can decide. But I want to visit the photo exhibition first. I've only passed through that looking for targets before. I'd like a closer look."

"Alright, but it's dangerous to expose me to too much culture," the man let him know.

"You owe me."

"Well… How bad can it be…?" Slade sighed.

Two hours later the man looked like he was about to cry. "There are only fifty pictures here, how can it take longer than fifty seconds to see them?" he asked dryly.

"You _experience_ art," Robin told him patiently. He had grown tired of the exhibition himself fifteen minutes ago, and now he was just torturing the man.

"All I'm experiencing is an urge to take a contract on the artist," Slade muttered, and reached for his phone. "I'm going to see if there are any."

"Okay, okay, we're leaving!" the teen said, snatching the phone out of the man's hand and potting it back in Slade's pocket. "Take me to lunch."

"You know, if you change the preposition in that sentence to 'at', it becomes more interesting?"

"The balcony was interesting enough," Robin snorted. "Food. Now."

Slade chose a sushi place, and they spent the meal jokingly arguing over who had the best taste when it came to the different dishes.

"I still think there's such a thing as too much wasabi," Robin said as they left.

"Impossible," Slade chuckled. "If your mouth doesn't burn, you're doing it wrong."

"Heh, there's a blow job joke in there somewhere," Robin snickered. "So… what now?"

"We might want to start packing. There won't be any time tomorrow, after all."

"Oh. Yeah." Robin looked around, suddenly feeling a bit sad about leaving. "Um… will you come back to Jump with me? I've got my plane ticket, but-"

"Already taken care of. I have the seat next to you."

"Why am I not surprised?" Robin grinned.

"Wintergreen is very handy sometimes," Slade admitted. "He should start a travel business."

"Oh, shit!" Robin stopped dead in his track. Slade followed his line on vision, immediately on edge, until the man realized that the teen was simply staring into space.

"What is it?" he asked, snapping Robin out of his thoughts.

"What? Oh… No, I just realized… I have to call the Titans."

"Alright, I can start packing and-"

"Actually…" Robin looked very uncomfortable and his ears colored a little. "Could… could you…"

"You don't want me in the room," Slade stated flatly.

"Actually… no. Don't get me wrong, but if I'm going to break this to them as gently as I can, you can't stand over my shoulder, grinning."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Yes, you would! And/or say something inappropriate. You wouldn't be able to help yourself. And you need to behave around them, at least in the beginning. They don't know you and they sure as hell don't trust you… And if this is gonna work, they need to be on our side, alright? If I feel like I'm torn between you…"

Slade raised his hands. "I got your point. I'm changing and hitting the gym for an hour; will that be enough?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Well, wait until I introduce you to my kids. They are older than you. That will be fun. And my ex-wife… I honestly don't know if she will want to kill you or become best friends with you… with Addie that is kinda a day-to-day thing… both options might be equally bad."

Robin blanked out for a moment.

"YOU HAVE KIDS?!"

"Yes," Slade admitted while firmly steering the teen into their cabin.

"AND AN EX-WIFE?!"

"She's the mother of my children. Well. Two of them. My first born son died, my second born son got his throat ripped open and become mute. He speaks through a kind of software now. Addie blamed me and shot my eye out. I also have a daughter, Rose, with another woman."

"Wait… mute… speak through a program… YOU'RE JERICHO'S DAD!?"

"You know him?"

"We've… run into each other." Robin looked kinda of pale and sat down on the bed heavily.

"Please tell me you've not managed to make an enemy of him somehow?" Slade sighed. Then he met Robin's eyes and froze a little. "Oh, no… don't tell me you are MORE than friends?"

"No! No… I just… We had some help from him in L.A when a target- I mean, a villain, fled there."

"There's something you're not telling me."

Robin mumbled something.

"Speak up," Slade told him.

"I…. I kinda had a huge crush on him since then and-"

"…and?" Slade asked carefully.

"And when Batman said he knew about me being gay, well… bi… then I… thought about… maybe… contacting him. For like a second before you broke into the conversation and distracted me."

"Joey isn't gay, though," Slade said. Again, he met Robin's eyes and raised his eyebrows. "He is?"

"Bi. For real."

"I… didn't know. He has never told me."

"Big military macho man of a father, who also kills people for money… maybe thought you'd take it badly?" the teen suggested carefully, not having a clue about the relationship the father and son had.

"You might be right," the man grunted.

Slade sat down as well, looking thoughtful.

"Wait..." Robin suddenly said slowly and looked up at the man. "What was that about your ex-wife maybe wanting to kill me?"

"And here we are… safe and sound…" Robin finished his, edited, recount of the past week.

"Wow," Beast Boy said.

"That was most frightening!" Starfire exclaimed.

"Glad you're okay, man," Cyborg grinned and gave him two thumbs up on the screen.

Raven remained quiet for a moment. "What are you not telling us?" she then asked. "What else happened?"

"Um… I… yeah… a few more things," Robin admitted. "And the main thing of those is… well… Slade-"

"Did he hurt you?" the empath interrupted, eyes glowing white. The whole team looked tenser, ready to kick some mercenary ass.

"No! no, no, no, quite the opposite… you see… you know about the mission and that we had to… pretend to be a couple, and… well, we worked closely together, we really got to know each other, and… we're… kinda…"

"Are you the pregnant?!" Starfire exclaimed, making Robin's whole face blush so badly that the rest of the team had no trouble interpreting his expression.

"Dude…" Beast Boy eventually said.

"Man…" Cyborg followed.

Starfire needed to be caught up on a few things but then looked thoughtful before asking "Are you experiencing happiness, Robin?"

The teen's smile told his team as much as his blush did.

They spoke some more, which mainly consisted of Robin confirming that yes, he was happy and no, Slade wasn't out to kill any of them. They decided to invite the man into the T-Tower when they both returned home the next afternoon, just to say a first hello.

"I will ask, but I can't guarantee anything. He might have something urgent he has to do," Robin cautioned them.

"Would he like the waffles?" Starfire asked.

"Yeah, everyone likes waffles, right?" Beast Boy piped up.

"We… won't go overboard," Raven promised after a pleading look from her leader.

"Thanks. See you tomorrow," Robin chuckled and ended the call.

Not long after, a sweaty Slade entered the cabin.

"Did it go well?" he asked.

"As well as could be expected. We… well… you're invited to the tower when we get to Jump. If you are able to."

"Robin, you made it clear to me first impressions are very important with your friends. Not only will I come with you, you can also decide what I wear."

"You… won't be in uniform?"

"I think that's a _very_ bad idea," the man chuckled. "I'm not as threatening like this, am I?" he continued and gestured to his current gym get up.

Robin took in the 6' 5" man consisting of 225 pounds of pure muscle and grinned. "Not at all. Might as well have been a teddy bear."

"Exactly," the man smirked. "A smelly one, though. I think I'd better shower before packing."

Robin started with his bags and was rummaging for a sock that had snuck far under the bed when the man came out of the bathroom.

"The most wonderful sight in the world," he heard the man sigh and wondered what he meant for a moment until his received a pat on his ass.

"Pervert!" he laughed at the man and crawled backwards, ending up kneeling on the floor in front to Slade. The mercenary then dropped his towel to the floor.

"No." Robin said firmly, although he had to swallow hard and fight not to raise his hands to the tempting prize. "Pack first. Play later."

"Slave driver."

"More like Slade driver," Robin grinned.

"As long as you drive stick," the man smirked and then went to put some underwear on.

"I'd like to think that I'm not terrible at it," Robin said in a mock haughty tone.

"Practice makes perfect."

"Hey!"

When they had finished packing Robin had just left out a nice suit for dinner and what he was going to wear when leaving the ship tomorrow. He then called Alfred to talk for a while and the man told him a box of cookies should be waiting for them back home. The old man hadn't said a word against Slade or Robin's… disposition… this whole time, and the teen carefully, almost fearfully, asked him about it.

"Dear boy, I have known for years. I'm also sure Mr. Wilson knows what's in store for him if he treats you badly."

"Well," Robin laughed. "I don't want him to stay with me out of fear…"

Across the room the mercenary snorted at this.

"I am sure we'll be able to tell normal breaking up and him acting unbefitting apart," the butler told him. "…Hopefully," he added, glancing to the side and, Robin assumed, Bruce. "Besides, Master Bruce is already looking through cases he might want help with in the future."

"I knew it, we're nothing but a business opportunity," Robin chuckled.

"Business is good," Slade pointed out. "You need to learn that there are bills to pay in the real world."

"Hey!" Robin objected for the second time that day.

"Well, he is not wrong, Master Robin," Alfred told him gently. "The Titans have a privileged position as official protectors of a city that supports them. Do you even get a water bill?"

"Um… I… no, but…"

"Spoiled brats," Slade chuckled and got a glare from Robin in return.

"Alright," the teen sighed. "Work means money, got it. Thank you for explaining this mystery to me," he added dryly.

"Now, now, Master Robin, mind your tone," Alfred said with a smile.

"I'd be happy to spank him for you," Slade offered.

"None of that, Mr. Wilson," he was scolded in return. "Private matters should be kept private. I don't want to see things in the newspaper about you two."

Robin poked his tongue out at the mercenary and then grinned at Alfred. "We'll be good," he promised.

"Reasonably," Slade amended and the teen shrugged and nodded.

"Anyway, Al, great to talk to you, I gotta go," Robin said and bid farewell to the old man. "Do you want to take a walk?" he asked Slade. "There's not much else to do with everything packed away…?"

"Sure," the man shrugged and soon they were up on promenade deck, enjoying the fresh air. Robin, almost shyly, took the man's hand. Slade smirked down at him but didn't let go. The teen hadn't been quite sure that the man would be up for these kinds of romantic gestures now when he didn't have to, but it seemed that he didn't mind.

"I still can't believe you have kids… who are adults…" Robin muttered. "You need to call them."

"One thing at a time. I will call Joey, though. He's a good kid. I don't want him to feel like he needs to hide something like that from me."

Robin squeezed his hand. "That's good. And you're right, the thing about us can be kept quiet until… well... we know if it works out."

"As long as you don't feel like I'm hiding you," Slade said. At that point his phone rang. Slade looked at the number and swore. "Too late. That's Addie."

"She has your number?"

"Only my official one. Wintergreen must have patched her through. Trust me, it's easier that way." Slade answered the phone. "Give me five minutes, Addie, and call again," he said, and then turned towards the closest elevator.

"Um… should I… give you some space?" Robin asked as he hurried along with the man. He had to, as Slade hadn't let go of his hand.

"Her calling means she knows. She works with intelligence herself, she must have picked up on something. It's better if you're there. If she thinks I'm lying she can be… difficult."

"Almost sounds like you're afraid of her," Robin joked, laughing. The laugh died, however, when the mercenary gave him a look.

"People who are not at least a little bit vary of Adeline Kane are either stupid or dead."

Robin swallowed. "You… sure know how to pick them…" he muttered.

"Don't beat yourself up, you're not _that_ bad," Slade chuckled.

"Addie." Slade greeted the woman on screen. Robin was in the room but outside the shot for now.

"Slade, what the hell are you up to?!" the woman asked.

"Working," the man shrugged. "Why, did you have any investments I ruined?"

"Yes. Albert Davis is a very useful contact of mine, and-"

"Excuse me, who?" Slade asked.

"Don't play dumb. You have threatened him and assaulted him, and-"

"Ah. Carl."

"Yes, that's one of his alter egos. Anyway, I need you to lay off him."

"No."

"No?!"

"He hurt someone I care about. You lost that contact, Addie, sorry. If it wasn't personal, I'd do you the favor, but it is. He's not bouncing back from this."

"Someone you care about…?" Robin thought the woman sounded like she didn't believe her ears. "Don't tell me you and your cover…?"

"Yes."

"But-" The teen heard the sound of papers being flipped through. "It says here your partner is a man…?"

"Would you like to meet him?" Slade said dryly.

Robin swallowed nervously.

"He's there? Yes, let's see the train wreck…" the woman groaned.

Slade motioned for the young hero to move into the picture. "Um… hi?" Robin said and gave an awkward wave.

The woman on screen must have been a beauty when younger and was still striking, even with grey streaks in her auburn colored hair. She looked like someone you did _not_ want to mess with, though, and the teen quietly wondered where this would lead. She stared at him and then closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"For God's sake, Slade, he's _Joey's_ age. You'd fuck anything with a hole so I'm not as surprised as I should have been about his gender, but he's practically a _kid_! How did this happen, who set this up, who is he?"

"I'm... um… Robin," the teen mumbled, blushing.

"Robin…" the woman said, almost to herself. Then her eyes narrowed and her focus shifted back to Slade. "Batman's brat? You're with a man, your son's age and a hero to boot?! Have you finally lost it? Did someone _else_ shoot you in the head?" Then she suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, this is… this is too much… the irony…"

Robin felt a bit better after hearing the laugh, as it sounded genuinely amused, not sarcastic or evil at all. "As far as I know he was only shot in the chest and stomach. By your guy, by the way."

"He's getting a bonus," the woman smirked. "Slade, I want to talk to the kid alone. Scram."

"But-" The man started.

"Scram. Now," the woman repeated and Robin could see the man's shoulders sag a bit. The teen chuckled as the man handed him the phone.

"I'll go get some refreshments, I'll be back in ten minutes," they were told. "If she gets too much, just hang up," he told Robin.

"Don't worry," Robin smiled more confidently than he felt.

"Okay, kid, let's have a heart to heart here," the woman said after the door had closed.

"Yes, Miss Kayne," Robin nodded and sat down, propping the phone up so he could be a bit more comfortable.

"Call me Addie, you're apparently practically family," the woman sighed. "So… first thing's first. What did Albert, that is Carl, do?"

"He drugged me, tried to rape me and later… he pulled a gun on us. Slade stopped him. Both times."

Addie asked a few follow-up questions and then Robin saw the woman's lips thin. She shook her head, muttering something that sounded like a string of curse words under her breath. "Alright. Alright, tell Slade he's off my payroll. I don't condone actions like that. There are things you have to do sometimes, horrible things, in battle or for information, to break people… but trying something like that without orders and for his own pleasure… no."

Robin smiled a little. "Thank you," he said softly.

"You're costing me, kid. I might want a favor for this from you two down the line."

"I… think you'd better talk to Slade about that," the teen said hesitantly.

"Trust me, I will. Now, about Slade; are you insane? You clearly know who he is, why would you willingly get involved with someone like him? It _is_ willingly, isn't it? I could contact Batman-"

"He knows and yes, I'm very much onboard here," Robin laughed. "But thank you. With both you and Batman looking out for me, Slade wouldn't dare to even think about treating me poorly."

"Wait and see," the woman muttered.

Robin swallowed, suddenly a bit afraid, but he had to ask. "Slade has never… I mean… he told me some things, I understand your hatred, but he has never… hurt you? Has he? I mean… you know… physically?"

The woman's eyes softened a little and a smile grazed her lips. "Never tell him I told you this, because I'll deny it, but Slade is a good man. If not for certain circumstances involving our children, if not for his lies-"

"He lied? A lot? About what?"

"I wanted to settle down, but he's not the type. He thought I'd oppose to him being a mercenary, so he told me he was off on hunting trips… one thing led to the other and then Joey almost died. I can't forgive him, or myself, for that. And then Grant…"

"Was Grant your other son? Slade hasn't told me about him, so if you don't want to…"

"Grant idolized Slade. Wanted to be like him. Joseph, he has powers, as you know. He was conceived after Slade went through the experiments that gave him his own abilities. Grant was just a normal human, but he wanted to be more. He was drawn in with such promises by the HIVE. Whatever they did to him… killed him."

"But… I mean I see the connection to Slade, but it's really not his fault, is it?" Robin said, feeling he needed to defend his lover.

"He could have been there. Taken his son under his wing."

"Yes, but… I'm sure, if he could go back in time-" Robin began.

Addie made an impatient gesture, "Yes, yes, we all would change things," she snorted. "But we can't. So we have to live with the consequences."

"I'm very sorry for your loss," Robin told her honestly. "Losing a child and seeing the other injured must have been awful."

"It was," the woman nodded solemnly. "And now… he goes and gets involved with a hero."

"Yeah, I know," the teen smiled. "But if you don't mind not shooting him for a bit, I'd appreciate it, because I'd like to have him around for a while at least."

The woman burst out laughing again and raised a glass of water in a toast. "As you wish. Now, tell me everything that happened on this trip, how did you manage to get the asshole to fall for you? Hypnotism? Drugs?"

Robin laughed and started telling her bits and pieces of how they had had to act on the ship, making the woman roar with laughter at times. In the middle of it all Slade came back but got waved away again. When he returned fifteen minutes later, the call was winding down.

"Robin, it's been a pleasure. I honestly wish you good luck. Come join me when it's over and we'll make him pay."

"Scary thought," Slade muttered.

"If we break up, I hope it will be a mutual understanding and hopefully not based on lies, cheating or death," Robin said dryly, eyes on the man.

"With Slade involved you'd be lucky not to get all three," Addie snorted. "I'll be in touch."

"Alright, bye!" Robin said, smiling brightly.

"What did she mean she'll be in touch?" Slade asked him darkly.

"I… might have half promised her some help at some point…" the teen said.

"You didn't?!" The man exclaimed.

"Well, I told her it had to go though you! And she works with the government, doesn't she? So she's practically a good guy!"

Slade burst out laughing, a dry sarcastic laugh. "A good guy… ah, yes, that's sweet." He bent over and kissed Robin's head. "You'll get me killed."

Robin bit his bottom lip. "I… didn't mean to… I mean, I didn't promise anything, so just say no!"

"She knows about you and about us."

"She'll… blackmail us?!" the teen exclaimed.

"Not openly. And she wouldn't sell the intel, it's more valuable to her as it is, but she won't hesitate to use us, trust me."

"Sorry."

The man sighed and shook his head with a sad smile on his lips. "Don't be. It's not like your old man won't call if he needs us too, Alfred more or less confirmed it."

"We basically got on the cheap labor list of everyone for hooking up?" Robin joked.

"It's the prize we have to pay. But cheap? I don't know about that," Slade smirked and then pulled the teen to his feet. "Now, she didn't manage to convince you to break up with me?"

"No, I'm stupidly stubborn," The teen grinned and stood on his tip toes, winding his arms around the man's neck, asking for a kiss.

"Lucky me," the man purred and kissed him. "Now, get out of here."

"Wait, what?" Robin blinked, slightly hurt.

"If my ex knows she's going to tell our son. I'd like to speak to him first, but I also prefer to do it in private. In the bag over there I've collected some food, go find a table with a nice view out on deck and I'll join you there in a few minutes."

"It will take you just a few minutes to breach this subject with him?"

"Maybe five," Slade smirked.

Robin snorted, but picked up the bag. "Alright, I might start without you, though," he said.

It took fifteen minutes for the man to appear. Robin watched his facial expression closely, and it was a got strange, maybe slightly strained, but he couldn't quite read it.

"Did… did it go well?" he asked carefully, handing the man a flute of champagne. Where the man had managed to get both champagne, glasses and an assortment of fruit, Robin didn't question. Maybe it was even offered as a picnic package for the guests.

"As well as could be expected. I think he was happy I called," the man answered, taking a sip of the drink.

"These things can take some time," Robin said wisely, and got an amused look from the man.

"Yes, I guess so. So... what do we have here?" the mercenary asked and examined the fruit plate.

"Passion fruit, dragon fruit, physalis, carambola and lychee," Robin said.

"You know your fruits," Slade chuckled, opening the dry paper-like husk of a physalis to reach the fruit inside.

"I was raised among fruit platters and finger fruit, and Alfred loved pop quizzes," Robin grinned, choosing a lychee for himself. "Good that it's just a small selection, though. I don't want to ruin my appetite for dinner."

"No, that would be positively naughty, wouldn't it? What would Alfred say?" Slade teased him.

"Oh, shut up," the teen grinned back.

The dinner that night was a three-course farewell meal and it was exquisite. Robin didn't want the time to pass, so of course it passed even faster than usual. Suddenly it was morning and they stood, Robin shivering, in the cool morning air, on land yet again. Wintergreen turned up, as before, and took them to brunch. The man was now much more willing to share embarrassing stories involving Slade and the mercenary actually had to beg him to stop at one point.

The flight was uneventful but the teen grew exceedingly quieter.

"Nervous?" Slade asked as they were waiting for their luggage.

"A bit," Robin admitted.

"Why? You didn't seem that worried about what Bruce would think?"

"Well, I don't live and work with him. If my friends don't like you…"

"I know, I know. I guess I should be nervous myself."

"Are you?" Robin asked, but only got a smirk and a raised eyebrow in reply.

Slade had arranged a rental car and soon they were parking in the Titan's garage.

"No greeting party?" Slade asked as exited the car.

"They will be upstairs. Come on," the teen said and headed to the elevator, taking a deep breath as he did.

"Robin! You are at home!" Starfire cried out and flew to meet them as soon as the elevator doors opened. The young man received a very thorough hug and then the alien stepped back a little and craned her head back to look up at Slade. She gave him a small, almost shy, smile. "And you are at home as well, Slade. Welcome."

"Thank you, princess," the man answered, politely, giving her a nod.

Everyone came up to greet them, Robin warmly and Slade a bit more cautiously. So far so good, though, and the teen relaxed a bit as he started to tell his friends about the trip. Star took it upon herself to show Slade around the joint living space of the tower.

"And you are sure about this?" Raven asked Robin worriedly after a while.

"Yes. Sure enough to give it a try. If it doesn't work out it doesn't," Robin answered patiently.

"Excuse me? Is Slade here?" Starfire asked them a moment later.

"He's not with you?" Robin asked back.

"I had to excuse myself to visit the room for little girls, and when I came back he was gone," the alien said, looking a bit lost.

"If he's in the server room-" Cyborg growled.

"Were we not good? Has he left you?" Starfire asked, her eyes big and wet.

"He just took off!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "And you wanna be with this dude?"

At that point the elevator opened and there was Slade, carrying Robin's bags.

"I'll put these in your room," the man said as he passed by.

Robin grinned at his friends. "Yeah, I wanna be with this dude," he let them know.

 _The End_

A/N: there it was. Silly idea turned into a rather fluffy story that took much more time than I had hoped, but yeah… now it's back to studying and working again.

Oh, and if you haven't got it: the chapter titles are from the title song "Love Boat" from the TV-show (classic and remake) with the same name. Yes, I used to watch them growing up. Yes, I still know the song. Yes, I've hummed it repeatedly while writing this. And yes, it's so cheesy you should be careful if you're lactose intolerant.

Please let me know if you enjoyed this story, thanks to the anon who said this wasn't tagged as Slade/Robin, I'll look into that. I think you can still sub to authors, though, so I suggest you sub to me, because Slade/Robin is all I write, really… 😉 Although rather rarely now. But I'll still keep writing when time and plot bunnies admits.


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